And Going...

Went to the doctor this morning. He tested Brandon, Kristen (his girlfriend), and myself for the flu. All three of us came back positive. LOVELY.

He put all of us on antibiotics to ward off any secondary bacterial infections, as well as treat Brandon and Kristen for the flu. (The rest of us have already taken the meds for that.)

The kids are all feeling good, which makes it even harder to keep them in the house. I on the other hand, am tired. So we have another week of being stuck at home. Time for a good project, right?

This most likely means that we will not be able to go to Gainesville for Joshua's clinic day Thursday. They will be calling me back tomorrow to let me know for sure. Seeing how the clinic is also the transplant center, I doubt they are going to want us there.

LOVELY.

JUST WONDERFUL.

SLIGHTLY FRUSTRATED.

I know God is in control. There must be a good reason for all this, right? My plans are not his plans, right?

Please just pray for all us to feel good, and be done with it. Lord knows I'm so done with it.

Brandon

So.... Brandon is officially 20 years old. That seems so strange to me, not possible, not yet anyway. I mean, I'm only 28. Right?

Our oldest boy turned 20 yesterday. I worry about him. He's out on his own, doing his own thing, keeping his own hours, and doing his own laundry!!! The latter is the only one I'm excited about.

I know he loves this time in his life. No parents around to tell him what to do. Friends galore. Staying up late. Hanging out with his friends til the hours come when nothing good can happen.

He's paying his own bills, working full-time, cooking his own food. Or not. I think he frequents the drive thru?? He can cook though. He's a great cook actually. He learned a lot from his Dad. hee hee

I'm proud of him for taking the big, giant step into the world and trying things on his own.

Although I just have to share this picture with you...


This is arm after his wreck last week. His knee looks like hamburger... wanna see.....

One thing to consider... these pictures are about three-four days AFTER the wreck and AFTER it's been treated and bandaged for several days.

I know... I can't believe I'm putting these on the blog either. Maybe he'll look at them and realize he doesn't want a motorcycle anymore???

I love this boy. He makes me laugh. He has a great sense of humor. He loves to joke around.

He can be really serious too. He loves to talk late at night, after we've gone to bed!! (Secretly, I miss those late night conversations when he would bare his heart.)

He wants to rescue the world from all evil. He hates injustice. He's handsome. He's kind.

We love this boy, our son. Although, he's really a man now. Strange. Too fast.

Happy birthday honey. We love you so much. Be safe.

TOMORROW....

we leave for Gainesville for Joshua's clinic day, then on Tuesday they will do the heart cath. We are not sure on the time yet for the cath, but I'm pretty sure it will be before nooon.

Please pray for:
Safe travel for us and God's perfect peace before, during and after the procedure.
Wisdom for the doctors who are treating Joshua.
No complications!
Absolute certainty of exactly what is going on with Joshua and certainty & cohesiveness in how to treat it.

Please pray that all three of us can be a witness for the doctors & nurses and that Alex, Micayla & Brandon will be fine while we are gone.

I will try to update from the hospital but not sure if I'll have internet access or not.

Please also pray for Brandon. He wrecked his motorcycle today on our street! We were all outside when it happened and I can't seem to get the image of him tumbling head over heels down the pavement out of my head. It was awful. He is okay but banged up pretty bad. Thank God he is still walking and talking and alive! Pray he will get rid of that bike!

WHY????

Why do teenage boys do things that stress out their Momma's? Brandon bought this for himself a couple weeks ago and I'm just able to post about it ...

It stresses me out to no end. I'm worried about him hurting himself or worse. We have a couple in our church whose son was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident and is now in a wheelchair with a long road ahead of him and requiring his parents to care for him. Every time I see Brandon on his bike, I think of them. It makes me so nervous. Yes he wears a helmet but that doesn't guarantee anything.

I know he is so excited about the bike, but I'm not. I want to be happy for him but I'm not. I was a little happy for him watching him ride it, because he's wanted one forever, all the while jumping in my seat every time he turned. I drove behind him so other cars couldn't but I can't follow him all around town. I just pray he gets home safe every night.

I'm thankful he is in his own house now, or I'd never get any sleep!

Please keep both my big boys in your prayers, that they are safe and healthy.

Family Happenings

Okay, so I haven't had a new post lately. It's time, I know.

Our summer has been great, having lots of company. Our latest was Brandon's friends from Missouri flew down and they went to Orlando for the week. What a great way for 18-19 year old boys to spend time together. They are all good kids and they really enjoyed each other. I was worried about him mixing his MO friends and his FL friends but it went great. And there was only one minor fender bender, and it wasn't Brandon so that was good! I thank God for bringing them home safely and for the boys flying home safely!

Joshua has been hard at work on FLVS (virtual school) trying hard to complete a half credit of Geometry. Yuck. Not what I think of as a great passing of time. He is also trying to get his permit. Please pray for him on that one! And for him to continue to strengthen his walk with the Lord.

Alex and Micayla are just enjoying being kids. They have some great friends and are playing, visiting, going to the beach, and just hanging out with the family. They keep asking to take "one more week" off school. I am trying to get to where we school year round but man it's hard!!

Uncle Jerry took the boys to Atlanta to see the Cardinals and the Braves play (GO CARDS!!). They won both games the kids went to and they had a great time! Thank you Uncle Jerry. It was strange for me to have only 1 child at home (Brandon is never home anymore anyway) so it was fun to spend some extra time with just Micayla. Gotta love that girl time!

John and I are great. He taught Sunday school last week and did a most fabulous job. I am so proud of him for getting out of the box and for having the courage to teach his peers, even when he doesn't feel qualified or adequate. He is great!!!!

I'm busy getting ready for my sister and her family, and our grandpa, to move here. I'm getting more and more excited the closer it gets. Pray for us for wisdom and direction to find the perfect house for them, that will accommodate everyone comfortably.

Thanks for reading about us! Enjoy what's left of the summer!!!