Family

We have had an interesting past week. My parents have been planning a trip to the Virgin Islands for some time. My cousin has a rental there and they wanted to see him and take advantage of a good deal on the rental. I have to admit that for some time now, I have had a certain amount of anxiety about this trip. Maybe it has been all of the plane crash news on the TV.

Well, they left out on Wednesday for Dallas. They were flying out from there. They had some deal where they could keep their car there cheaper than in a parking garage. When I got home from church, I got one of those "your dad is fine, but he was taken by ambulance because we have been in a finder binder. Oh, the doctor came in I'll call you back". Well, a van owned by some kind of hotel/ convention center rammed them from behind. They were hit so hard that it pushed them into another car and somehow another car was involved. I'm still not sure how straight I have the story. Anyway, they loaded Mom, Dad and their luggage into the ambulance and took them to the hospital. Mom tried to assure everyone that she was okay, so she did not get checked out. Dad was dizzy and his neck was sore, so they took him in a neck brace and backboard to the ambulance. Thankfully, my Uncle Jack called in the middle of this (he knew none of this was going on) and sent my precious cousin Will to meet them at the hospital. Will has no idea as to how relieved my sister and I were to know that he was there. Thanks Will. The doctor gave them the go ahead to travel, so they are basking in the sun (a little sore and stiff) at St. John's island. Speaking of Saints named John, my Uncle John has come to the rescue with handling the insurance. Since it all happened in Texas and it costs so much money to call from the island, we are so thankful he could do it. He also met them at the hospital. He and Will then proceeded to stay with them, go to dinner with them, drive them to the hotel and basically make sure they were physically and emotionally okay for the rest of the evening.

As far as we can tell, the car (a brand new Expedition) is in bad shape and I don't know if they are going to total it or not. There was fluid leaking, lots of broken glass, and damage done to the body. Mom and dad weren't even sure where the car was. We figured that out and took it to a Ford dealership. Thank you John and Will for your advise on where to take the car.

Family always comes through in the end and this was definitely the case with this incident.

Thanks Will, Steph, John and Rhonda!

Power Team, Kite Flying, and Bubbles

We have had an interesting week this week weather wise. It went from ice and snow to no coat weather. Only in Oklahoma!

We took the opportunity today to fly kites and blow bubbles. The wind was strong so it was a perfect day. Kailyn of course has a Barbie kite. Kobe's was a Blue Angels. The differences between boys and girls! We got them up pretty high! Kailyn loves bubbles. She didn't have to blow very hard at all to get lots, so she was in heaven!

We also saw the Power Team last week. They are an amazing group of people (there is one woman). They go around and break blocks, bend metal, and basically do anything that has to do with strength. They also tell the message of Christ in the process. It is an unusual ministry, but an effective one. We had seveal people saved because of their ministry. Pray for them. They reach folks that no one else could!

More Ice Pics

I just wanted to post some pics we took yesterday. Kobe's friend Jeremiah came and went sleding with us at the school. His older sister was there, too. She is Kailyn's favorite babysitter.

Ice Storm 2009

Well, Darin and I have laughed at the people in this town since we moved here. As in most Oklahoma towns, a forcast for snow drives everyone to Wal Mart to buy anything they may need in case they are snowed in for weeks!!! This usually does not happen or comes and goes so fast that it's over before you blink. Well, in Checotah they have had several ice storms. Not only do the groceery stores sell out of milk, water, etc. but also propane stoves, candles, generators, and the like. You see, they are convinced that the electricity will go out and will not come back for weeks. We have laughed because they have only had this happen once and they are prepared every time. As this storm was coming, they forecast some freezing rain and sleet. We were in the ice storm area. No snow, just ice. Fun, huh? Well, Darin decided we needed to go to Wal Mart and at least price a propane stove and heater. Well, they had them, but no little propane tanks. Hadn't had them for a week. I told you they planned ahead. Well, our house is total electric and we have no way to heat it or cook anything. To say that we were praying for the electric to stay on is an understatement. Mom and Dad have two generators. They inherited one with their last land purchase. We have planned on picking it up to have here in case anything happened. We will get it the next time we are there!!!! Long story short, we kept electricity. The other side of town did not. We have been out of school for the last two days and Darin's principal just texted him and said no school tomorrow. Answered prayer!!!

On a side note, we have some friends and the husband works for the transportation department. We live right off of I-40 and parts of it were closed yesterday. You know it is slick if they closed the interstate!! We got a call last night from the wife and the husband was on I-40, in a sand truck, stuck, tired (he'd been at work since 7 that morning and it was 10:30), and didn't know when he was going to get home. She worried about him physically getting home. He got home at 1:45 A.M safely (praise the Lord) and was back out at 7:00 A.M. He was affected more emotionally because so many people were stuck, tired and hungry. Some had been there for hours. He knows that if he does his job, they will get around better. Remember these people in prayer. I have been behind sand trucks too. They are slow. We are in a hurry. They are out there trying to help us and, if the rest are like him, worried about our safety. That's what got him up this morning at 7 ready to go again!!!

Of course, the ice storm has been a lot of fun. The sledding is great. The ice is so packed that this is all you can do, but you can sure go! You really don't even need an incline!

All is well

We spent the weekend at the farm.

Kailyn began her stay on Wednesday. She couldn't go to the sitters because of her little MRSA condition. She is too cute out there. She feeds those cows and tromples through the woods like a little farm girl.

Kobe came down on Sunday afternoon. He went to Aunt Sandy's and played. He also went to the hockey game Saturday night. It was jersey night, so we have a fancy Blazer's jersey to show for it. He spent the day today shooting his Red Rider b.b. gun and trampling in the woods. I thought I heard something about an armedilla hunt, but moms can't know everything boys and popa's do.

Well. Kailyn is better and going to daycare tomorrow. Darin is at a clinic, so I am going to have a crazy next few days. He is gone a lot, so we are somewhat use to being by ourselves. The only problem is Kailyn has been at Nana's and is quite spoiled at the moment. I will survive!!!!

Survival

Kailyn is running around the the house like a maniac!!! You would never guess that she has MRSA. She is continuing to improve. Darin has had about as much stay at home time that he can stand. Luckily, she is healed enough- I'll spare the gory details- to go to my mom and dad's tomorrow so we can all go to work tomorrow. We were very fortunate this time. I am praying we will not have to live through this again!!!!!

MRSA Update

We took Kailyn back to the dr. this morning because she was looking a little worse last night. As I was getting her ready, the spot ruptured. It looked better, but we took her to the dr. (yes on a Saturday) anyway. We get there and they look at it and start talking specialists which means hospital. The doctor gives her some happy juice and thinks she can get the rest of it in the office. The first 20 minutes she was on the meds. it was quite funny. The room was decorated like an ocean and had ocean animals all around the room. She started chasing the animals around the room. She told us that room was the prettiest she had ever seen. She told us that the happy medicine
sure did make her happy. Finally, she goes to sleep. That is until the dr. comes in to do her thing. She screamed and screamed. She asked her daddy to pick her up. She told me to stop hurting her. She asked me to take her home. Finally, the doctor is done and, after several statements on how brave she is, she comes home with 2 suckers, a sticker, and a stuffed toy.

The dr. tells us she will sleep most of the afternoon and evening. She slept maybe 30 minutes and has been wound up ever since. We are trying to have a lot of patience, but in true Kailyn form, it is quite a feat!!!

I hope we don't have to come back!!!!!