Just to let everyone know...

Brad made it through surgery great and without a problem. He was even cracking us up afterwards coming down off the drugs(I wish I had a video of that). Then they got him up to go to the bathroom. While in the bathroom I had to hold him up when he nearly passed out. I pulled the nurse call button and they came with a wheel chair to get him. He lost all color in his face(even his lips turned white). They got him back to the room and turned him basically on his head to get his blood flow back and when he regained some color, took his blood pressure. Of course it was 80 over 50 and then the longest day ever started. We spent the next 7 hours trying to get his blood pressure back up. The nurse even called the dr trying to get him admitted, but there was not a bed available. So finally at about 8:00 with a blood pressure of 99 over 76, they decided to go ahead and send us home. Keep in mind this was suppose to be day surgery. The dr had told Brad to stay off his feet for 3 days because the swelling was going to be bad. I knew this was going to be a challenge, but never dreamed that I would have to threaten to duct tape him to the bed at 5:00a.m. Tuesday morning. Tuesday was a little better. He only got up a few times and managed not to pick up anything-shocker! Well I took Jacob to his baseball game Tuesday afternoon(which he scored 2 runs!) and my throat was a little scratchy- I figured just allergies, no big deal. Well in the middle of the night I noticed I was sweating and running a fever. I got up at about 6:30 and took my temp and it was 101, which is very high for me. I took Jacob and Carley to school then went straight to the dr. Of course my strep test came back positive. The dr said I had a horrible case of strep with tons of pus pockets in my throat. So after a quick stop by the pharmacy, I went home and went to bed. Now we were a sight to see, Brad hobbling around after surgery and me feeling like death! So to make a long story short, today is Friday and the the first time I have really gotten out of the bed besides running the kids to and from school. I still don't feel great, but feel a lot better than I did. Brad on the other hand went to work today, so that should tell you how he is doing. Please pray that my life gets better! I know that may sound petty, but I am really about to reach my breaking point!

Update!

Well to update everyone on the recent situation. We went Friday and picked Josh up for his first visit home. On Saturday he wanted to go to his Aunt and Uncle's and see his half brothers, not a good situation. These are the people he went with last time that got him in Cherokee in the first place. I told him no and after an hour of arguing decided to call the home. The director told me to let him go then go back in 1 hour to pick him up. If he didn't come let them know and at 3:00 Sunday afternoon he would be considered a runaway and they would deal with it. I agreed and let him and Josh know that if that was the case me and Brad were through. Well you guessed it. It is after 3:00 on Sunday and he is now a runaway. Me and Brad are finished helping him and no longer consider him a part of our family. I know it sounds harsh, but we can't keep putting time and energy into a kid who don't care. He is now the homes problem and hopefully they can straighten him out. Me and Brad both feel that we did the very best that we could do.

On to other news. Brad's hernia surgery is tomorrow at 11:00. It is suppose to be out patient, but with Brad's blood pressure issues, they told us to pack a bag "just in case", so we will see how that turns out. Please pray that all goes well and that we don't have to stay in the hospital. I am really tired of those at this point. Also hopefully my next post will include some Easter pics of the kiddos!

Living a Crazy Life!

Does anyone else out there feel like they are running in a constant circle? Just wondering if I am all alone. When I was a stay at home mom, I felt like I was constantly busy with cleaning, bathing, feeding, etc. That I never had a moment to catch my breath. Now that I teach school 8:00 to 4:00 5 days a week, have 2 kiddos in school, 1 kiddo playing baseball, the wife of a very busy preacher, and now live 14 hours from close friends and family, I feel like I am gasping for air. Not to say I don't love my life, but just to question when did things get so hectic! If any of you have advice that would help me sort it all out, I would greatly appreciate it. I know this is not my typical blog entry, but I really need to just vent and take a moment to meditate on this crazy world that i am now living in.

Finally Getting Better!

After a very long week and a lot of crazy diagnosis, Brad is finally getting back on his feet. They have narrowed the problems down to a blood clot in his arm, asthma, strained muscles in his chest, and STRESS! Who knew. Today he actually went to work for the first time in over a week, and for anyone who knows my workaholic husband knows how hard that is to believe. We thank you all for all the prayers and please don't stop. It is us we are talking about and you know how prone we are to all kind of problems! We love and miss you all!!!

Cut Me Some Slack!

Well Brad went to preop Monday afternoon. He wasn't feeling real well, but after a stress test and an EKG they finally cleared Brad for surgery. They did say however that they were going to have a cardiologist stand by in the surgery room "just in case" and that they would most likely keep him overnight instead of sending him home that same day. Well Tuesday morning I wake up to Brad throwing up. He had taking some medicine that made him sick. That early evening me and the dr. decided to go ahead and take him to the hospital to get hydrated. After a long night, a chest xray proved pneumonia. So at 2:00a.m. Wednesday morning we were admitted. Wednesday was a horrible day for Brad. His blood pressure at one point was 49 over 40! I don't think he even got out of the bed until Thursday night. Friday the dr. comes and says it sounded like he was getting bronchitis. So they kicked up the antibiotics a bit and started breathing treatments around the clock every 4 hours. Finally by Saturday they said he could go home. He is still not up to speed, but is at least up and talking a bit. I don't think he spoke a word all day Wednesday. Of course his hernia surgery has been cancelled until he is on his feet. He goes in the morning to see the dr. and see what kind of progress he is making. Please keep us in your prayers. Brad always says the devil isn't after you until God has you and this year is proving that true!

If it ain't one thing...

Well to update everyone on the Josh situation, we have talked to him a few times and he seems to be adjusting well. The house mom says the school has been very impressed at how well he is taking to the school and making friends. He is not real excited about his room mate. To quote Josh, "He talks till about 1:00 in the morning and never shuts up." But that is the only complaint I've heard so far. Just keep him in your prayers and hope for the best in this situation.

On to other news. Brad is having hernia surgery on the 25 of March. He has had this for a few years now, but is hurting to the point that he has trouble standing now. If he would have taken care of this when it happened, he wouldn't be in such pain now, but that is a man for you! He is suppose to go for pre-op today and get all the details of the surgery. Once again keep my family in your in prayers, you know it is always something!

A Very Hard Week!

I am not even sure that I still have any fans out there that take the time to read my once a month post (sorry I will try to be better),but here is a little update from the past week. As you all know we took on Josh about 2 months ago and things were going great until this past week. Josh called Tuesday night after he was suppose to be at some friends house that we knew and trusted and said he was with J.T., an absolute nightmare of a kid. Not really his fault, his mom is a total crackhead, but that is besides the point. Josh said he wasn't coming home because he was "messed up" and he knew we would kick him out anyway. I told him to get here now or I was calling the police. After some persuasion, he gave in. Sure enough he had been smoking pot with J.T. and said he was ready to give up being a Christian and go back to his old lifestyle. After a long meeting with us, a deacon, and an elder he decided he was wrong and he would not give up.

Well the next day at lunch, he wanted to go see his mom, which is also a crackhead (what's the deal with these parents?) and Brad agreed. Josh told him to pick him back up at 4:00. Well you guessed it, 4:00 no Josh. We got in touch with him and he was with J.T., said he was moving out and couldn't take it anymore. We were so mad we said fine come get your things tonight. Me and Brad at that time felt as though we were through. We went to church and a deacons family came home with us, so we wouldn't be alone when he came by. The more we thought and worried about it, we knew we couldn't give up that easy. We knew that was what everyone else had done to this once upon a time innocent child, and I knew we were better than that. We went with the police found him, once again high, and brought him home.

The next morning we arranged for him to be placed in a Church of Christ children's home about 3 hours from here in Cherokee, TX. We went that day not really telling Josh exactly what was going on. We talked with the counselors and toured the entire place and after a very long talk with a very angry child, he decided to stay. That was the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my entire life! It was like leaving my own child down there. I cried that entire day. Josh said he knew we were just dumping him like everybody else had and he knew he would never see us again. Talk about breaking your heart. We know we made the best decision for him, because he needs out of this town with all of his old influences, and needs a chance to have a real life. If he stayed here things would never change and he would never have a chance.

The home there is super nice. They have a game room, weight room, pool, indoor basketball court, and all kinds of activities. He is in a house with a set of house parents and 7 other teenage boys. He gets to call us once a week for 15 minutes, and gets to come home once a month, holidays, and some in the summer. We went today to take him some of his things and got to take him to eat. He says it's OK, but he hates all the strict regulations like no phone, no computer, dressing up for church (no jeans), and the little school. They are super tiny like 120 kids K-12. He is use to 120 kids in his class. It was still super hard to leave him today. We miss him terribly, but know this was his only option.