Prayer Update - Dom

Thanks to all who have been praying for our great-nephew, Dom.  I went looking for a photo and this is the most recent one I have. It was taken two years ago when we visited CO.


Jamin, Crystal (Dom's mom - our niece), Jared, Dom, Jerome (our nephew)

We have great news! Dom has been moved from ICU and is on a new floor where rehab has begun.

He is opening his eyes, able to respond to questions, and beginning to learn to walk.  The hope is for him to be out of the hospital before Christmas.

His doctor suffered  a spinal cord injury and is a quadriplegic. He has passion and skill to aid in Dom's recovery. God is blessing in the midst of the storm. We asked for a miracle and I believe we are seeing one.

Thanks for your continued prayers for Dom. As I know many are also praying for the health of Michael and his brothers - below is a photo of the three of them from that same trip.

Choosing Joy!
©2014 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Retirement? I think yes.

Wow - the weeks just keep whizzing buy! 

This is our biggest news! Michael is eligible for retirement on 1 Nov 2015 and has put in his application to retire.  Yes, as a matter of fact, we'd love your prayers as we continue to seek God for His plan in the next season of our lives.

Monday Michael had a root canal and his tooth feels much better. He needs to coordinate getting the second part of the work done on base...but at least that pain is gone.

We did school on Monday - didn't realize REAL school was out. LOL  Can you believe it was 77* outside on 10 Nov? Yuuki approved. She is NOT supposed to be jumping - but she did it anyway.

Tuesday was a day off work for Michael.  We took things fairly easy....and that's o.k. I could tell Michael was feeling better - one source of pain is doable. He took care of several projects around here and he and I even went out for lunch/dinner.  Stacia began throwing up. She says she feel fine - but she's throwing up.

Today was a busy day with Bible study and PWOC Board meeting.  Alex was excited to be trusted to be the care taker today...Stacia says she feel better but she's sleeping.  We're all due at the dentist tomorrow so I'm starting to wonder how that is going to work. Praying she feels 100% tomorrow.

Choosing Joy!
©2014 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

LAZEEEEEE Weekend

This was the laziest weekend we've had in years.  Michael continued to be in pain - both from the  "alien thing residing within his abdomen" and from his teeth.  He spent most the weekend in bed and the rest of us played games, read, watched movies and worked puzzles.

 

BreAnne and Krista first embroidered the names on our Thanksgiving tablecloth. They taught Arielle. She taught Stacia this weekend. They finished all the names from last year - just in time for everyone to sign it this year at Thanksgiving.    

We didn't even go to church. Imagine.

We slept.

 We talked.

We caught our breath.

It was good - though I'm sorry it took Michael to be in pain for us to be able to clear the schedule.

Choosing Joy!
©2014 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Walmart, Percocet and Costumes

Today was Michael's day off. Michael is in a lot of pain. We cancelled our plans. On top of the "alien thing residing within his abdomen,"  his teeth are acting up. He spent a couple of hours at the base dental clinic which resulted in being referred to a dentist/oral surgeon (not sure he's not talking much) in Roseville for Monday. They sent him home with Percocet.

SILLY US - we were elated! This was sure to help the pain from the "alien thing residing within his abdomen," too. It would appear Percocet needs to be added to the list of pain meds that makes Michael queasy and loopy.

The kids and I moved to plan B - lots of school instead of festivals.  Stacia needs new clothes.

It was going to happen. I headed to Walmart....Arielle came with me. This was my first trip to Walmart since I was crudely propositioned.  It's always fun to be out and about with Arielle. She kept reminding me to be situationally aware....we had a good laugh when I quoted back to her what I was observing. ::snort::

The thing is - people like to talk to me. They follow me from aisle to aisle and make small talk.  About half way through our trip Arielle looked at me and said, "Why DOES everyone want to talk with you?"

I don't mind a smile, appropriate small talk, taking interest in a fellow human.

Maybe it's our "style"

One lady followed us from spot to spot.  A few comments here and there...but mostly she just seemed to be THERE when we were....I noticed this as I was practicing being situationally aware.

As I reached for milk she said, "You're a Pastor's wife, aren't you?"

"It's because I skipped the full make up today, isn't it," I quipped.

She said she could  tell by my conversations. Hmmm.....

We decided to bring Stacia for clothes shopping.  Instead we bought LOTS of new costumes at 75% off.  Arielle mentioned they needed costumes that would fit for the plays Stacia has been wanting to put on.....so we bought anything that would fit the kids.

 

"I swish my tail at you. You have been shamed." 



 

Looks like the big kids are enjoying the costumes too

Choosing Joy!
©2014 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

The White Horse King by Benjamin Merkle

I found the first few chapters of, The White Horse King: The Life of Alfred the Great, by Benjamin Merkle, to be rather dry. I continued on as I had a review to write, I'm glad I did. ::grin::

King Alfred united Anglo-Saxon England against a Viking invasion, led the English into battle against the Danish hordes, created a renaissance of literature and the arts, reformed the legal system, and set the stage for a revival of Christian worship. But that's not what made him great. Benjamin Merkle unravels the tale of how a great man came to power during one of the most difficult periods in English history, how he led his nation through them, and how he laid the groundwork for England's coming triumphs on the global stage.

I have taught about Vikings raids every four years - but I had never gotten beyond the information provided in our text books. I was sickened by descriptions of  Viking brutality and torture.  I'll probably not be able to watch "How to Train Your Dragon" again.  King Alfred shines in the midst of this setting. I was amazed as I read of his truly Christian response towards enemies.   I found inspiration in Benjamin's description  of Alfred's battle technique. The picture of warriors, lined up side by side, shields interlocked and moving forward stays with me.  When one would get wounded, another would step into his place. As long as all held their place the shieldwall was virtually impenetrable.

 Centuries before John Wycliffe,  Alfred was translating the Bible into the Anglo Saxon language.  Alfred laid the ground work for a united England.

"...he was a fierce warrior, a devout Christian ever thirsting for wisdom, deeply committed to justice, a lover of mercy, and  a king who gave himself for his people. He was practically a myth and a much-needed reality. He was the king of the White Horse- Alfred the Great."

I recommend this book if you are a lover of history, if you are looking for a "hero" for young boys, and/or  if you are a teacher.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Choosing Joy!
©2014 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Seeing the Surgeon

Today Michael and I met his surgeon. Referrals are always a bit hit and miss. The one Michael saw earlier in the year was simply useless and racking up bills for Tri-care. He didn't LISTEN.  Dr. F seemed to enjoy sharing his past Army experiences and such....and he LISTENED as well.

Dr. F on the right receiving the "Physician of the Year" award in this area for 2013

I was VERY helpful. The first question  was, "How has this pain impacted your life?"

As Michael considered what he was going to say - and gave manly answers - I replied, "He can't sleep." 

Dr. replies, "The pain wakes you up?"  We had his attention.

Yep - time to figure it out.

Dr. F used to be an Army Surgeon and has been here for a couple of decades. He knows his stuff. He is willing to admit the mistakes he made as a "Jr Surgeon." He did NOT talk down any of our previous docs, but he did have some preconceptions that they may have messed up Michael's past surgeries.  He really thought he was looking at repairing work from previous surgeries.

This frustrated us as we've told EVERYONE REPEATEDLY the pain existed BEFORE the surgeries.

Then he got to the MRI results....we both noticed his demeanor and expression change as he read...and he didn't talk about repairing work from Jr Surgeons again.  He started drawing on his whiteboard. I'll say this for Michael's journey of the past few years - I could draw some really interesting Pictionary entries on internal organs.  He drew and spoke...and the "picture came clear." ::groan::

 Michael has a tumor.  The MRI caught it - but it was rather scattered. He wants another MRI - ASAP -  to focus extensively on the tumor and how it may be connected to various other internal parts. He also wants to see how much it may have grown and confirm it wasn't simply a blip on the MRI.   He told us this was "pre-op" and he wants a clearer idea of what he is getting into before they operate. 

He said we won't know if it's benign or malignant until its removed. . . but we need to remove it.  This assumes the 2nd MRI shows what the first did.

We aren't sure what time table we're looking at with the Holidays and  such....but Dr. F said 3.5 years is long enough to be searching for the cause of a pain. He said  he suspects, from what Michael has consistently said, it has been there all along and they simply weren't looking in the right area. A classic case of switching docs every year or so, doing the obvious tests and determining, "There's nothing there."  It took a retired Air Force doc at Beale to know where else to look, and a Sr Surgeon to follow it up.

It looks like the next bit of time may be interesting in our home. 

We're thankful to be taking steps to less pain for Michael.

Choosing Joy!
©2014 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Falling Back

This was an unusual Sunday for us. Michael was preaching - but kids were sick. Arielle and Stacia ended up staying home. The boys, Michael and I skipped Sunday School but made it in time for service.

It was apparent after service that Michael was in enough pain that he wanted to go home  rather than eating out.  I am thankful he will see a surgeon Tuesday.  We got home, made lunch ate and then spent the afternoon resting.

 

 

After 3 hours they called the Risk game a draw - but I have on good authority that "Arielle almost won," however, "Nolan was winning," and both had ganged up to "murder" Zander. 

 Michael and I read

Stacia watched movies. We had several phone calls....a nice day.

Michael did talk with Dom's mom. Thank you for your continued prayers on behalf of our men. Dom is still in the ICU, but is making some good progress. He has a ways to go before he can be moved to a normal room. He isn't speaking, but does hold up the correct number of fingers when prompted and shows he doesn't like having his movement restrained. These are good signs and we are thankful for God's continued care. For those how missed the original prayer request Dominic is our 18 year old great nephew who fell 2 stories, landing on concrete, Saturday morning.

Choosing Joy!
©2014 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...