If I were. . .(This is Austin speaking)



If I were a shoe, I'd be a Nike.
If I were a city, I'd be Bluefield.
If I were a season, I'd be Summer.
If I were a car, I’d be a Ferrari.
If I were a vegetable, I’d be broccoli.
If I were a fruit, I’d be a grape.
If I were a color, I’d be blue.
If I were furniture, I’d be a couch.
If I were a country, I’d be Italy.
If I were a beverage, I'd be a root beer.
If I were clothing, I'd be shorts.
If I were weather, I'd be sunny.
If I were a dessert, I’d be friendship bread.
If I were a plant, I’d be a pine tree.

Another Sarah update. . .

The doctors have changed their original diagnosis of viral meningitis to bacterial meningitis. At least they think it is bacterial. They had to take some cultures and those results take a few days to get back, so as a precautionary measure, they went ahead and treated her with antibiotics. She has responded well to them. She is "herself" today and Derek said it "was very good to 'see' her." He said she doesn't remember anything about yesterday, other than the beginning moments in the emergency room.

Bacterial meningitis is usually much more serious than the viral kind, because it takes so long to diagnose. It often looks like many different things i.e. the flu. But because Sarah had been on antibiotics a week ago, they said that really helped her in the long run.

She is still in the ICU, but they are going to move her to a regular room later today. Derek said they will probably let her go home tomorrow (Friday).

We love you Sarah!

Sarah update



She DOES have spinal meningitis--the viral kind. Here's a copy of an email Marian sent last night. . .

I thought I would send another update before going to bed b/c dad and mom will
wake up and wonder the latest news. Esther & Laura both just called a little
bit ago and both said that Sarah was diagnosed with spinal meningitis (the viral
kind). The drs. say 3 more days of a good-sized headache and fever, but really
it just has to run its course. They may send her home tomorrow (Thursday) with
a pic-line (not sure how that's spelled) but basically that means medications
can be given through the I-V. What a day. And I was here in TX and not in OK.
I'm so thankful for the gift of a large family. We love you Derek, Sarah,
Elizabeth & Jenna, Wyndi & Bryan & Hannah, Jenna & Brian, Esther & Rico,
Jacqueline, Jonathan & James & John. I know I was tense all day and I'm 8 hours
away. Please know that everyone is still praying. We love you all.
in Christ our strength,
Marian

Thank you for your continued prayers for our sister.

This is my sister, Sarah, and her husband, Derek. . .



Today, by some wierd circumstances that I am not even sure how to relate, she ended up in the Intensive Care Unit in an Edmond, OK hospital. Currently, they are running various tests to see what could be wrong. Her symptoms were odd and it took hours for them to finally take her seriously. I think, initially, they thought she was having an adverse reaction to a self-induced drug overdose. For a while, she didn't know her name and didn't recognize her husband or our sister, Wyndi. She was having severe head pain and a skin-sensitivity issue that I don't know how to explain.

My sister, Wyndi, kept trying to tell them that Sarah was not acting like herself, but they were not listening and they were treating Sarah with little respect and much attitude. It just so happened, of course by God's providence, that the Director of Care Management (or something like that) had once worked with Sarah. Wyndi was able to get ahold of her and she came as soon as she heard. As soon as she walked in the room, she hugged Derek and then said she'd be right back. When she left the room, the doctor asked Derek how he knew her and he said that she was a close, personal friend of Sarah's. This lady then came back in the room and said that Sarah was "the best RN she had ever worked with." It was then that they began to treat Sarah differently.

The doctor looked at Wyndi and said something like, "Tell me again, from the beginning, what happened." This has been an all-day affair. They sedated Sarah because she was in such pain, but she came out of the sedation faster than expected. However, it looked as if she was doing some better because she recognized Wyndi and Derek and she knew who her own name. But then her temperature, which had been normal all day, suddenly spiked to 102 and last we heard they were taking her for a spinal tap, to check for spinal meningitis.

Please keep Sarah and Derek in your prayers. They have two daughters: Elizabeth and Jenna, who both have the flu. Uggh.

Many of you sent emails to Asa while he was in the hospital. I cannot tell you how much that meant to us to know that sooo many people loved us and were praying for us. I checked to see if the hospital where Sarah is staying has such a service and they do. If you would like to encourage her and/or Derek, you can send them a little note, prayer, or scripture verse through the hospital. Her name is Sarah Bendure and she is at Edmond Medical Center(Oklahoma) in the ICU. If you go to their website you can just click on the tab that says "Patient email".

I'll post more when I know more.

I'm up--might as well blog. . .

I LOVE. . .

my man in his hat, boots & blue jeans

to hear my name coming from the mouths of babes

laughing with good friends

reconnecting with old friends

God's mercy

the hugs my children give so freely--to anyone & everyone

praying through struggles

the hope of heaven

to watch Anne Michal with Asa

that Gracie Mae & Micah K. know my name

the body of Christ

my pastors & their families (present & past)

going to the movies and having a bag of popcorn

Sonic drinks

sleeping through the night and waking up knowing I've gotten a good night's rest

a good hair day

a sweaty workout

listening to my sister play the guitar & sing

pictures

Ocean Isle Beach, Bluestone Conference Center & Perrow Presbyterian Church

watching Austin play basketball

reading with Addison

playing with Anna-Kate's hair

listening to Ayden

cuddling with Asa

5231 Monta Vista Drive, Cross Lanes, West Virginia

King College

walking this road with Kevin

that Kevin has "dear" friends

having a twin sister

a good beat I can dance to

when Cara Beth looks for me in a crowd

Steven & Deborah Scott in the Philipines

working in the nursery at church

Christmas morning

when a plan comes together

seeing the light at the end of the tunnel

a clean kitchen

Westminster Presbyterian Church

time spent with the family

playing foosball with Asa, Ayden & Kevin

a good school day

holding Kevin's hand

seeing 11:11 on a clock

Chloe & Sylvia

Christian & Felix

Alex

listening to my children pray

listening to my husband pray

Psalm 18

being asleep at 1:47 in the morning. So, goodnight.

When you see Anna-Kate at church tomorrow,

ask her how she did in her basketball game. As her mother, I am taking the liberty of "stealing her thunder", so to speak. This is her second year to play basketball and we are more than half-way through this season. Only 2 games left. I guess what I'm trying to say is that, in the 2 years she's played, she's just not that aggressive and she can often be seen on the court, watching her team play. See below. . .



But not today. She scored ladies and gentleman!!! Her first time ever. It was great. In the league where she plays, they usually try to match up the teams, skill for skill. Well, someone messed up on Anna-Kate's behalf today, because the star of the other team was the one covering Anna-Kate and she, in turn, was to cover her. I bet the other girl scored more than 12 points for her team. Anna-Kate just couldn't keep up.

But then Anna-Kate had a moment, one beautiful moment. She was dribbling the ball down the court, and by some miracle, she broke away from the giant who was covering her and drove it right down the lane and then she did it. She shot a lay-up and she made it. Oh I was sooo proud of her. I cried. Aunt Marian cried. If Ashlee had been there, she would have cried too. (I can always count on Ashlee.) It was a great moment.

Way to go Anna-Kate! I love you.

I stole this from Kierstyn's blog (Party of Five on the list on the right--I still don't know how to link it.) I was supposed to give one-word answers, but sometimes I needed two. Anyway, here's a little useless trivia for ya. . .

1. Where is your cell phone? bedside table
2. Your significant other? work
3. Your hair? bedhead
4. Your mother? servant
5. Your father? hardworking
6. Your favorite thing? laughter
7. Your dream last night? lost
8. Your favorite drink? Sonic
9. Your dream/goal? healthy
10. The room you're in? computer
11. Your ex? married him
12. Your fear? loss
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? here
14. Where were you last night? church
15. What you're not? sleeping
16. Muffins? blueberry
17. One of your wish list items? lasik
18. Where you grew up? West Virginia
19. The last thing you did? hug Austin
20. What are you wearing? jammies
21. Your TV? friend
22. Your pets? Sugar
23. Your computer? a pain
24. Your life? good
25. Your mood? up
26. Missing someone? always
27 Your car? messy
28. Something you're not wearing? shoes
29 Favorite Store? TJ Maxx
30. Your summer? awaiting
31. Like someone? Kevin
32. Your favorite color? sky blue
33. When is the last time you laughed? half-hour ago
34. Last time you cried? yesterday

Conversation between Asa and Mr. Brian



Brian was sitting on the ground outside of the church with Asa on one side and Cara Beth on the other. Brian shared this conversation with me. It went something like this. . .

Asa: Whatcha wanna talk about?

Brian: I don't know. How about your daddy?

Asa: My daddy's amazing. . .what else do ya wanna talk about?

Another Asa Update. . .

Asa had a follow-up appointment today with his GI doctor in Houston. We have been anxiously awaiting results from some genetic tests taken before Asa left the hospital over a month ago. To make a long story short, his results came back. . .




NEGATIVE!!!! Kevin and I breathed a sigh of relief when the doctor gave us the news. He said he shouldn't have to see Asa again, unless he has another bout like his previous 2. Asa did have some blood drawn today to see if his enzyme levels were back to a baseline number. The baseline number, or his lipase count, they want to see for him is 120. When he had blood drawn 2 to 3 weeks ago, his lipase count was above 650. So it was still elevated but no where near the 40,000 from his first visit or the 15,500 with his second trip.

It was definitely good news today! I do feel a little lighter. Thank you to all of you who prayed for him and for us. I have no words to express our appreciation. Thank you doesn't seem to cover it, but right now, it's all I've got. So, thank you.

An Ayden Funny

Today at Anna-Kate's basketball game, Ayden was sitting next to me. He looked up at me and said, "Mommy, I have a headache. . .only it's in my tummy."