Recovery

Well, the MRSA is almost gone. Football is over. It has been a busy couple of weeks. The Wildcats got beat by the defending state champs. It was a sad game, but a fantastic season that no one will soon forget. We broke several records and went 10- 0 for the regular season. Those years don't come by very often.

After several appointments, my MRSA is all gone and I have a very small spot that is still closing. When it is completely healed, we will do a Bactraban treatment with the whole family where we put bactraban in our noses for 5 days. That is supposed to stop the spreading of it. We will see. So far, no signs from the rest of the family. I watch carefully.

The kids are anxious for Christmas. They are preparing for the program at church. Kobe has a pretty big part in the play at school, too. Their lists are long. They will get way too much. We keep reminding them that Christmas is about the gift of Christ. It is hard to fight TV as well as every store we go into. We are trying, though. Kailyn seems to want everything anyway. Maybe it is time to visit a shelter. I don't think she will get it, though. Ideas? We do have a Fisher Price nativity set that she plays with. She likes baby Jesus, but the Jesus in her mind is the grown up one. She doesn't think he is the same one.

Overall, our house is thankful for health, love and Jesus. Even if we can't see him as being a little baby.

MRSA Halloween and District Champs!!!!!

Clone Trooper or Sister Shirt?

The sister shirt won out. He has a whole Clone Trooper outfit that he wore for trick or treating, but loves this shirt, too!!!

MRSA and Halloween- All in one week

What a crazy few weeks this has been!!!



Darin is doing great in football. They are 10/0 and heading into the playoffs this week. There is a lot of pressure, but they are having a great time. We have one great group of kids.



Of course with Halloween being on Friday, we had to make plans for the kids to go trick or treating. They went with Darin's sister, Dianne. They went back to Okmulgee to a carnival our church has there. They had a great time.



I, on the other hand, drove 2 hours to Idabel and watched Darin beat them.



Saturday, I noticed a small bump that had come up on my leg. I ignored it unitl Sunday when I noticed it was a lot bigger. By Sunday night it was the size of a ping pong ball. I woke up Sunday night because it was the size of 2 ping pong balls. I went to the Dr. Monday who immediately sent me to my OBGYN because of where the bump was and the fact that I had surgery with her in June. She lanced it with a scapel and lidacane. It hurt. I called Darin's sister Denise who graciously let me go to her house. Since the Dr. had cultured the spot and wanted me to come back Wed. morning, I stayed with her. By Wednesday, the bump had spread all the way up to my stomache. My results came back and it was MRSA. I was admitted to the hospital and given IV antibiotics. The Dr. also had to cut out more infection and now we have to pack the wound spot. I was worried because Darin had a game on Friday. My Dr. was great and wrote Darin a perscription to go to the game and hold em!!! She released me Friday and I went to the game Friday night. I got sick, threw up at half time and came home, but we were up 28/0 so I wasn't real worried. I went back to the Dr. Monday and everything looks great except for a spot that we have just noticed that could be a "runner" from the origional spot. Pray that the antibiotic gets it!!!



Darin has been a real trooper, handling football and me. The newspapers have us going all the way to the final game. We have never been in this position before. If you want to see some great pics of him go to tulsaworld.com and coachsaid.com. I'm so proud of him! The Muskogeepheonix.com has a great article on him and his job as Defensive Coordinator. Check him out. We are all proud.



Don't worry about the kids. They got to trick or treat 3 times when it was all said and done. The school did a deal on Oct.30th and we did Checotah that Saturday the 1st. Since I have been sick, Kailyn has been at my mom's and Kobe has been past around town and spoiled rotten by everyone.



This town has been awesome. They have fed us, cleaned my house, done laundry,and prayed for me. I have not ever felt so loved. And I think they would have done it whether we were 10/0 or not!!!!!



I'm on the up and up, but just keep praying!!!!!



Amie

Kailyn

Let me start by saying I have been working on templates for my blog. This is way more complicated than my computer skills (or lack there of). Be patient with me as I try to improve my site and forgive me of my many errors.

Okay, now to the good stuff. I took my Kailyn to the Dr. yesterday for her routine 3 year old check up. Yes, I know she is 3 and a half, but now that her dr. is an hour and a half away it is more difficult to get her there. My friend Dr. Wann and I discussed all of her health problems and were able to check them all off as either cured, managed, or so minor that it doesn't even matter. She used the words "perfectly normal 3 year old". I had never heard these words before when it came to Kailyn. If you need proof of God's ability to heal, look at my child. She has no hormone imbalance, as a matter of fact that dr. has dismissed her. Her skin is perfect. We have figured how to keep the eczema at bay. The hole in her heart is so small that she could not even hear it. If you remember, the heart surgeon said the same thing when we did the heart cath a year ago last March. It was too small to patch. We only see him every 4 years now. Guys, God answers prayers. As I am writing this my mind goes to the prayer warriors at FBC Okmulgee. The Caudles, Dennis and Janet, the list goes on and on. I also could never forget the coveted prayers of two of my favorite people, Pitty Pat and Grandad. These people will never know how much they have meant to my kids and me. I keep several of the notes that Harold wrote me from the prayer room. They will be cherished for years to come. One day Kailyn will appreciate them the way I do. It is so nice to be loved! And boy are my kids loved.

So now, thanks be to God for the healing and to those who diligently prayed for my baby. pray that she will never forget that her life and health are so precious and that people prayed her healthy. God has a tremendous plan for her life and I look forward to seeing it unfold. May we use this experience for His good!

Blog Game

Okay, Steph, I'll try this thing!!!! Here is my picture. You can see Kailyn is cheesing. I think she is on my mom's lap. We had been fishing at a fishing contest at the lake. Kobe, as you can see in the background is chilling out (maybe even almost asleep!!!).

Emotional Week

This has been a very emotional week on several accounts. I lost a student that I am concerned about. We have hit some major success with our football team. We are now 5-0 going in to a very easy game Friday. The overall feeling of this week is life goes on. Last year at this time we were thinking that we could turn around a football team. Now, we have achieved this goal. I thought I would feel different, like the world would be perfect if this is the case. Instead, I find myself thinking that football is not everything. Don't get me wrong, it is nice to walk in Wal Mart and hear everyone talk about how wonderful my husband is. This time last year we were these people who had to earn their trust. Now we have it and it is scary. People are looking for something to believe in. They believe in my husband, us, and we will at some point let them down. We are people. People let people down. Just look at this country. We would not be in the situation we were in if we were dealing with perfection. We will be let down. I let my husband down. I let my kids down. I let my students down. I let my friends down. The list goes on and on.



Here is the good news. We have Someone who does not let us down. He is there for us through the thick and thin. The good and the bad. The wins and the losses. He never changes.



One of the biggest emotional things I have had to work through this week is the anniversary of the death of a friend. A friend whom I worked with, went to church with, raised my children with. She understood something that only despiration can teach us. God is in control. He never dissapoints. Even when the world around us is crumbling, He is strong. Even when we don't know if our next breath is coming, He is in control. The world gets all wrapped up with stuff. What we have, the stock market, our bank account. God is wrapped up in us. Cleaning us up. Teaching us the real meaning of life. Understanding that it is all about Him, and that when we let Him be in control, He handles the rest. He gives us peace about money, cancer, whatever our issues are. He protects us from the world and a lot of times ourselves. You see, I am a fixer. I am never more happy than when I am fixing somebody. I want to fix this student of mine's situation. I wanted to cure my friend's cancer. I even want to have the money to fix everyones problems. The problem is, I am not the fixer. God is. When I try to fix things, I mess them up worse. I have to trust Him to do the fixings and me to do the obeying. I am working on this.



One of the things I know I can do is pray. I am going to attach some pictures of my friend's children that she has left behind. Pray for them. Pray for their father who lost his wonderful wife and became a single parent all in one day. That my friends, is something we can do!

Skating

We went skating with the church today. It was Kailyn's first time. Kobe has been two other times, but for the first time really got the hang of it. Some of the girls from church helped. Kailyn liked the strobe light the best. I was cracking up. The place probably looks the same as it did 20 years ago!!!! I guess skating is not as big of a deal as it once was!!! The kids didn't care, though!!!



We also are 4-0 in football. We went back to Okmulgee to play yesterday. It was weird. I had never sat on that side before. We beat them, but it was bittersweet. Life goes on!!!!



I am showing some skating pictures. It was really dark and I did not get very many good ones.



By the way, Darin got his stiches out and his ear looks great!!!!

Just thought I would give an update. We won the big McIntosh county war. It was ugly but it was a win. Checotah hadn't won in 10 years, so it was a huge night.

On a side note, the babysitter called today and told me Kailyn had a bead stuck in her nose. It ended up in her shirt somehow so we are not sure if it ever was in her nose or if it fell out. We are ready for a vacation!!!!!

What a Week!!!!!!

We are right in the middle of football season at our house. We are definitely the family of a football coach. The kids looked so cute as we got ready for the game the other night that I had to show them.

Darin has shown some team spirit this week, too. We have the big Eufaula/ Checotah game this week. It is a huge game and is called the McIntosh county war. It has been going on since the 20's. When I got home yesterday, Darin met me with the Checotah Chief of Police (who has a son that plays on the team). They informed me that Darin needed stitches, but to go ahead and get the kids settled because he was not finished with defence practice (he is the defensive coordinator). I figured it couldn't be that bad, but I was wrong. He had a horizontal cut in the center of his ear that required 15 stitches. He was playing scout quarterback (yes at 36) and the scout reciever ran into him. It was a complete accident. We headed to the nearest big town (Muskogee) and were going to the emergency room, seeing that his ear was literally in two pieces being held on by a little skin. The boy who hit Darin happened to have a mom for a nurse that works for a doctor that does a lot of plastics. He really did a great job. Darin is very sore, but overall seems to be okay. It was quite an evening.

To make the week more exciting, Kobe came up to me at lunch and said he wasn't feeling very well. I decided that I would take his temp. It was 101. He is with my mom. So, we have Kobe with a fever, Darin with stitches in his ear, and the biggest game of the year. WOW!!!

Fishing Trip

We had a great Labor Day weekend. We went to my mom and dad's on Fri. and came home Sat. We had some family time with Darin which is rare this time of the year. Today, though, had to be the best. They had a fishing tournement at Lake Eufaula. We live 5 minutes from this massive lake and have maybe been there twice since we moved here. They sent home a note on Friday saying they were having this tourney so I talked to Kobe about it and he was excited. I was not sure what to expect and enlisted my father for help. Dad shows up with poles, worms, etc. We all line up around this pond (there were probably 30 kids there). The big goal was to catch fish, not yourself!!!!

Kailyn gets the first bite. We finally caught it and it was the shortest fish I have ever seen caught on a pole. Kobe snags one a little bigger. Kailyn catches one that is actually smaller than the first one she caught. Kobe then catches a small perch. Needless to say, we did not win the trophy for the longest or biggest fish caught. That was okay, though because Kobe won a new fishing pole (one Papa said was one he fished with) and was thrilled. Kailyn was equally as excited when she won an umbrella and a stringer. She was mostly excited about the umbrella because she has been begging for one of her own for a while.

We finished the tourney with a hot dog lunch cooked on an open grill right by the lake, which Kobe swears makes it taste better. I think we will do it again next year.

School is better. Kobe is settling in and seems to be okay. Kailyn is doing great and is excited about seeing her friends every day. I have a great class and Darin is right in the middle of football.

We are a very busy bunch!!!!!

Growing pains

Well, we are back at school. Kobe is not too sure about third grade. It is a hard year and we know that. I'm hoping that he will love it when he gets used to it.

Kailyn on the other hand has had her first bout with a UTI. She started running a fever on Saturday. I was hoping that she would get over it in 24 hours. In true Kailyn form she had to make it hard and was still running a fever on Monday (my first day to report). Luckly my mom retired this year and came to watch her. I called the doctor and they said to give it another day. Of course she was atill running a high fever on Tues. (104) and I called back. They saw us and she had to do a urine sample ( we had to talk about it all the way there, saying if you don't peepee in the cup they will put a tube in your body) and discovered that she had a really bad infection. After 4 days of antibiotics and rest and care from Nana (read spoiled), she has recovered. The only problem is she has informed me she is not going to her babysitter on Monday. She would like for Nana to come take care of her every day. We have tried to explain that Nana lives an hour away and she can't come every day (especially with gas as expensive as what it is), but Kailyn is still holding on. Kobe has suggested that we leave her at Nana's and just visiting her on the weekends. Good try son!!! So Monday will be a tear filled day I'm afraid. Darin will have to take her. You have to love the first week back!!!!!

Kobe's 9th Birthday

We had a birthday party for Kobe on Saturday, July 19th. It was a lot of fun. We had about 10 little boys plus Kailyn over to swim in Kobe's new pool. A great time was had by all!!!!

Here we go!!!!

To keep up with our extended family and friends, I have decided to create a blog for our family. Be patient. I am new to this and will probably make several mistakes.