Graduation

Talked to Bo tonight. He had diabetes testing today but won't have the results for a while. His captain is letting him graduate next week as planned. Several of the guys in his platoon went to bat for him, even saying if Bo wasn't allowed to graduate, then they wouldn't graduate! A bunch of them even pitched in and bought him the army ring he wanted for his birthday. They all get kisses when Isaac and I fly to Oklahoma next Tuesday (from me that is, Isaac's kisses are precious but quite slobbery)!

Update

I talked to Bo Monday night and he is on "medical hold" until doctors find out what's going on with him. He said not to plan coming out next week for graduation :( . I hope that changes because I know he will be so disappointed not to graduate with his battery. He has completed all his required exams to graduate but because he's missed a week of training so far, he may have to finish late. We haven't talked since those few minutes Monday and I'm anxious to hear from him.

Today is his birthday. I sent him the funniest card, I hope it cheers him up. It's a huge square card with sound, the size of a dinner plate, and plays the Star Wars theme. As soon as you open it, you're blasted with that dramatic music that has the loud first note. The boys and I kept opening it and laughing as we signed it.


I'll keep updating. Thanks for all the emails!

More theology with Noah.....

Noah: "Mom, how did God make Himself?"

Me: Blank stare. Blinking. Silence.

Ticker still works

Bo had some cardiovascular tests today and was told he has the heart of a twenty year old. Praise God, something is still working well!

Back in the bay

Bo left the hospital last night and is back in the bay but he was told to return if the vomiting continued. His blood sugar was very high, 400, so he's being tested for diabetes tomorrow, and has neuro tests Friday to see if there is injury to his brain from the fall. His four good buddies all have major medical training and they are watching him closely, to the point of arguing with their drill Sargent and risking reprimand. (Thanks guys, you're awesome!). Bo will need to rest and his concussion will take time to heal.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and emails. It's nice to know that there are people out there who love and care for us! Love back to you....

Back in the ER....

Bo's drill Sargent just called me. Bo is back at the hospital. He was weak and stumbling marching to the chow hall, and is vomiting. He can't keep his medicine down (not sure what meds he's on, but he got them through an IV at the hospital). Bo's battle buddy Steve spoke with me after the drill Sargent, and said Bo is very frustrated and having bouts of depression. It's hard for him to be dependant on others like this. The Sargent is taking Bo's cell phone to him and I'm hoping to connect with him tonight.

Going Home

Bo was discharged from the hospital this morning and sent back to the barracks. He will still need to rest and will be on restricted duty for a while. He never did meet with the neurologist yesterday, nor had any of the testing. He has three neuro appointments next week. They'll be checking for bleeding in the brain, lesions on the brain, and plaque build up in the carotid artery (arteries? is there more than one?). We should find out Monday if any of this affects his graduation from basic training, which is February 5th. He completed all the required exams to pass but he's not sure yet if he'll have to be bumped to a later graduation because of his sick time.

B-Ball

Last week I took basketball photos for the Upward program at a local church. I photographed 165 kids, and forgot to take my own son's basketball picture! Will get it next week when I shoot one more team that wasn't there for photos. I had to share my favorite picture with you. It was the test shot I did to identify the team. These girls are too cute! Coach looks like he's a good sport too.

Praise God

Good news. Bo's doctor said his chest films were clear, and the pneumonia is gone! Wow, it's got to be the power of prayer. Bo is feeling better. The swelling on his head is better and he is still sore but not in extreme pain. The rib is healing and his breathing is better. He is having an EEG today to investigate Wednesday's seizure a bit more.

When I couldn't reach Bo Wednesday afternoon, I was concerned that something had happened and emailed his battery commander, firmly but politely asking for information on my wounded husband's status. He went to the hospital to personally check on Bo yesterday. Army wives rock!

Thank you all for your love and prayers.

Update

The house that Bo built......

A week ago Bo ran into a wooden beam during a manuever and cracked his rib.

The broken rib caused him to breath shallow which led to pneumonia,

which weakened him and caused him to become run down especially after

exhausting himself to complete a final PT exam (with a broken rib),

which explained the lightheadedness and fainting after the exam,

resulting in a head injury from hitting the chow hall floor, which caused him to have a

major concussion, which led to a seizure yesterday.

It's all the rib's fault. Let's blame Adam.

Bump Bump

Bo is in the army hospital at Fort Sill. Tuesday evening he had a "syncope episode". He passed out, fell, and hit his head in the chow hall. His buddies were with him and tried to catch him but didn't reach him in time. He woke up in the ambulance as they reached the ER. Doctors there ran tests to determine the cause of the syncope but everything came back clear and he was released after being stitched up. He has a major concussion and was assigned to "quarters", a recovery area on post, but the doctor didn't want him to be around sick soldiers so he was instead sent back to his bay. When I spoke to him yesterday he definitely was not himself. He talked slow and kept saying "um.....um...." Bo's 'battle buddy' Steve had warned me Bo was confused and had some memory loss (short term, he said his head had a huge lump on it like Joshua's did after his birth eighteen years ago, but couldn't remember speaking to the boys Sunday). Both Steve and another good friend Jason are paramedics, and they were assigned "fire watch" over Bo. They did a great job watching over him, helping him get about, and communicating his status to me throughout the day. Knowing he was being monitored around the clock made me feel more at ease! He didn't get much rest though because the whole platoon kept checking on him. He got up to observe a combat training and support some of the guys that look up to him. While lacing his boots he passed out again. This time he had to be revived to consciousness by sternum rubbing and hits to his chest. Steve called 911 and he was rushed back to the ER. The same tests were run again and this time something showed up on his cat scan that will be reviewed by a neurologist today. He was admitted last night and I was finally able to speak to him around midnight. He sounds okay but is frustrated and in pain. He's only getting Tylenol for the pain in his head. He is also recovering from a broken rib but that is getting better.

Our family would appreciate your prayers. I had to fight off fear in the beginning but now I have peace and am trusting God with Bo's health. We have prayed together and Bo is reading Psalm 91. I'll update when I have more news.

Tired......

It's been a busy week and I'm pooped.

I fought off a cold the first of the week.

I was blessed with the opportunity to do basketball pictures for "Upward".

I took my one-eyed cat to the vet twice because now the remaining eye is in trouble.

I took Joshua out to Chili's and Caleb out to Cracker Barrel(not much cooking this week since I worked three nights).

I went to my aerobics class and laughed when the instructor said "when all of you get beach bodies by spring, don't get mad when folks chase you on the beach, that's why I teach you to punch".

I had the middle of the month home repair disaster, this time the plumbing under the kitchen sink. I fixed it!

I crashed on the sofa while Joshua was away on a ski trip and Caleb was at a friend's house. I started watching my "Army Wives" DVDs Joshua and Charity gave me for Christmas. Watched five episodes in one night, I'm hooked.

I started drinking "alkalizing water" per my mom's instructions to balance my PH level.

I spoke with Bo twice. He misses us and is healing from a broken rib.

I celebrated my friend Rebecca's engagement.

I celebrated my friend Katrina's new baby.

I walked down memory lane when an old friend posted college pics from the late 80's on Facebook. Was able to connect with college buddies and roommates through that, yea!

I took Isaac to the doctor for his one year check up. All is well.

I took that doctor's kid's basketball picture.

I took Noah out for "Noah's date with Mom". We went to the movies and saw "Hotel for Dogs". It was cute.

Speaking of dogs, I saw an adorable 16 week old English bulldog at the vet, named Bella. Now I want a female bulldog named Bella.

I ran into my friend Renee at Publix. She is moving to North Georgia.

I created a quiet corner of peace and serenity in my bedroom. Caleb hooked up speakers for my Ipod. I'll escape there when I need to be alone.

Okay, last but not least. I praised God this morning that my house did not burn down. Caleb made brownies at 1am and then fell asleep while they were cooking. I woke up at 5:30am smelling smoke and stumbled to the kitchen to discover a black charred brownie brick that cooked for four hours!!!!

Happy One Year One Month Birthday

While Bo was home for holiday block leave we celebrated Isaac's birthday by having a "One Year One Month" party. The whole family got to enjoy watching Isaac have another go at his little cake. I'd frozen it til Bo got home! Isaac got blocks for his birthday and he was one happy little guy.....

The Trashmen's Cheesecake

Some of you may get a kick out of this.

The week before Christmas I like to give our trashmen and mailman a little treat to thank them for their service to our family. I make cheesecake or cookies. This year it was cheesecake. Leaving a huge slice of cheesecake in the mailbox is pretty easy, but finding a way to leave a cake for the trashmen, without them, you know, thinking it's the trash, is another story. I'm tired of watching my homemade confections being chunked into the back of a slimy garbage truck. So, this year, I put more effort into letting the trashmen know "I'm leaving something for you, it's not trash, I want you to have it and eat it". I found a cardboard box (it has to be disposable, just in case), typed up a sign, and put a bow, Christmas card, and disposable cutlery on the cherry cheese pie (without the cherries). It made it this year and I even filmed the gift-receiving from the dining room window. I still am amused by the confusion on the worker's faces when they realize they've been left a gift. This says to me that they aren't expecting to have anything left for them beside the trash on the trash day before Christmas. Help me people, let's remember our sanitation workers at Christmas.

Pray for Haiti

Last Sunday I attended a service at IHOP Atlanta (prayer, not pancakes). Man, there are some awesome churches outside of Albany! IHOP churches are based on prayer, worship, and apostolic leadership. Like the Tabernacle of David in the Old Testament, they have prayer and worship 24 hours a day (not the whole church of course, they take shifts and I think other churches are involved too). This church in Atlanta has been praying 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for three years! Imagine having a place to go at 2am, to sit in God's presence and worship. Wow.

Anyway, one of the women on the praise team shared that a team from the church was leaving this week to minister in Haiti. She taught us some of the history of the physical and spiritual poverty of this nation. In order to get emancipation from France in the 1800s, Haiti made a pact with Satan. They vowed to serve him in exchange for their freedom. Voodoo is the main religion. Human sacrifices are done and children and sold into slavery. Because the people are so poor, they cannot afford to keep their children, and will release them into slavery, often as sex slaves, for money.

In addition to this horror, there is the bondage of hunger. The people make "dirt cakes" to eat. While the government wants to step in and forbid this practice because it's unsanitary, they know that otherwise many starving people would have nothing at all to eat.

The team from IHOP is aware that the root of Haiti's problems is spiritual, and are focusing their efforts on this trip likewise. That's really smart. They are going in with the Word of the Lord, and like Judah who "plows" (Hosea 12?), they are strengthened from all that prayer and worship and ready to win souls for Christ. They may even be granted the opportunity to hike 4-8 hours one way to minister to a primitive tribe who've never heard the gospel.

Please join me in praying for this team and the people of Haiti that God so desperately loves.

Happy 2009

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. I am excited about what 2009 will bring for our family, and pray your year is blessed too.

I am back from Atlanta. I put Bo on a plane Friday morning. He has four more weeks of basic training, then job training begins for another seven weeks. He was sad to go and called last night to say how much he misses us.

I spent a long weekend with Bo's family and was reminded about how strong the call to protect and the serve is with us. Between Bo, his father, and his brothers, there has been service in the army, navy, air force, marines, sheriff's department, police department, state prison, local secruity, drug task force, and swat team (swat team leader actually, go Mike, you're the man).

Ironically, for a family so called to serve justice, we have been dealt more than our share of injustice. False accusations and unfair treatment have plagued this family for the past fifteen years. Major stress. Life changes. Upheavals to relationships and children. Lawyers. Judges. Money. Stress. Prayers and tears and heartache. Yet, we continue on, fighting for what's right, protecting the innocent, bringing the guilty to justice, believing for truth to be revealed.

I believe God's justice will come.....