Day of Rest, Mostly

I went absolutely nowhere today! I need to tomorrow, but today I took off. We didn't do much at all. Jeff took Travis and Tyler to Game Crazy to spend some of their Christmas money, but other than that we were pretty lazy.

Highlights of the day: Jeff's mom came over to visit for awhile. A friend stopped by for a few minutes. I got the "you are in charge of the nursery now, right?" phone call. I read a story to my kids. Tommy got into everything. We decided to leave the tree up a few more days.

I realize I never blogged about my tree, Rainbow. We did not get out all the fancy decorations this year. It was really very simple, so I wouldn't have to keep getting after Tommy or getting frustrated. He made a game of pulling the chain off the bottom branches, throwing it on the floor, and stomping on it. It's a little worse for wear. We made a rainbow paper chain, and some candy cane heart ornaments. I added some small bell decorations, a rainbow, and a castle. I thought about putting some fishing line on a couple unicorns, but realized I would be pushing my luck.

The picture was taken today, so is minus some candy canes and a gift or two. It's nothing like the trees we're used to, but somehow it fit this year. It did look better in person.

December 29

I remembered to eat breakfast myself before heading over to the hospital. Only Tyler and Travis were awake when I left the house.

Jeff was ready to leave when I got to the hospital. The doctor had already been in, and we only had to wait for the dietician to talk to him before he could be released. The conversation didn't take long, and I loved that people kept telling Jeff over and over again what I've been telling him for years. He actually said he should listen to his wife—amazing!

We picked up his prescriptions, picked up some vacuum cleaner bags, and picked up some groceries on our way home. When we got here we found Scott & Amanda and Josh already here. The boys were sure glad to see Jeff back home. He has to take it easy for a few days, has a doctor's appt. for next week, and is expected to be released to go back to work in 2 weeks or less. Okay….so everybody needs to stop waiting on him and let him do what he can do. There's enough stuff that he can't do.

Okay, yay! Relax for a day before I start to think too seriously about the job I promised to start this week. It's only a few hours of work, I can get this figured out later. Hey! The mail made it here for the first time in over a week. Boys check the mail and bring it to me, thank you. Here are some Christmas cards…one from Jeff's nephew and wife, one from another nephew's ex-wife, one from my dad…….what????? I was stunned, and was just staring at the return address. My dad's name….addressed to me. Huh. Hand the envelope to my mom who is sitting next to me…she goes blank too. This is comical. My husband takes the envelope, and asks who this is…I just start crying.

It was definitely from my dad; I opened it up and found a "Daughter" Christmas card signed "Dad." This is completely foreign to me. I don't know how to respond. He wrote me a letter also. Wow. Okay, I haven't heard from him in what, 16 years? I'm not sure I'm emotionally stable enough at this point to deal with this. Actually, I'm starting to feel a little emotionally bankrupt. Of course I tried to call my best friends, and, or course neither of you answered. Ugh! I wasn't even sure if Melissa had arrived home yet, Australia is a long way away. When I did talk to you later, you both pointed out that my dad had recently come up in conversation. Melissa reminded me that we had pulled out the old photo album last week, and also reminded me that God has been answering prayers lately, and maybe I should figure out which prayer this answered. Thanks for that, Melissa.

Okay, get on with life. Deal with this later. Make dinner for Jeff. Make dinner for Tyler. Make dinner for Josh and Travis. Make dinner for myself. That's not normal; we usually all eat at the same time. Mom left. Scott & his family left. We get to go back to a semblance of normality. Deep Sigh. Tomorrow is another day.

I need to thank all the people for all the help and prayers these past few days. There were phone calls and visitors I didn't mention all the friendly offers for "anything" we need. The care of the children, the time spent with Jeff, the support for me, and the prayers!!! When trouble comes, true friends come to help. Thank you all.

December 27-28, 2008

Jeff in the hospital

Saturday was a busy day. I over-slept-in, I probably needed it though. Scott and Amanda came over so Scott could help me get Jeff's truck back home. Trav and Ty rode along just to get out of the house, and Travis rode back with Scott in the truck. I think it did him some good to be with his uncle for awhile.

I had to call a friend from Scouts to say I wouldn't be at the meeting that had already been rescheduled twice, and of course I had to explain why. I didn't know who to call about my not being at church the next day to work the nursery, because the person I would normally have called was out of town, and as of next week I am officially the Nursery Coordinator, and I would be the person to call. Oh well, I figured Ken and Jan (pastor and wife) knew, and they would explain if need be.

We had our Christmas present time with Melissa and Geoff. Then they had to finish packing up their stuff. I took them by the hospital, and then took them to Melissa's parent's house. They had to finish packing and spend as much time with family as they could.

Christmas with the Milners

I went back home to get Mom and the boys. They all wanted a chance to visit with Jeff, so we went to do that. Grandpa was there when we got there, and Jaycee popped in for a minute. She works in ICU, and was also substitute leader for the children's program the next day. I was able to tell her I wouldn't be there and felt that I had done my part, as her kids were the only ones we could think of that might actually make it to church the next day…lol

Visiting Daddy at the hospital

One of Jeff's nephews and his wife had stopped in to see him and had left a gift card. That was kind of them. It was also very useful. We went up to Fred Meyer's and bought Jeff a pair of slippers for the hospital and a new outfit to wear home. We took the slippers back to him right away because he really didn't like the hospital socks. Melissa and Geoff came by for a few moments.

When we got back home, we converted our guest room into Travis's bedroom, and moved his mattress and DVD player in. He spent his first night in his own room.

On our way home

Sunday morning I went over to the hospital alone. Scott & Amanda got there shortly after I did. We were present when the doctor came in and went over what needs to happen in the future. Jeff needs to be done smoking. He will be on medication for the rest of his life to help with his cholesterol, blood pressure, etc… He needs to eat right and get some exercise. Because a good portion of this seems to be genetic, I'm glad Scott was there to hear all of this too. We've also re-stressed to the children that they need to take care of themselves.

Geoff and Melissa stopped by for one last goodbye on their way to the airport. We don't know when we might see them again, but I'm sure it will be years. I am so glad they were here for us during this time, and I am glad they stayed with us as much as they did while they were in the states. I'm grateful for the internet and the telephone that makes it possible for us to stay in touch. We're hoping to meet in Hawaii sometime in 2010, but time will tell.

Goodbye at the Hospital

Mom called to say I had the diaper bag, oops! So Amanda and I went back to our place to deliver diapers. The rain and warming up seemed to be doing a good job of melting the snow and ice, so I took Mom to get her car, we ate, and then Amanda and I went back to the hospital. We left Jeff relatively early so he could get a good night's sleep, expecting him to be released the next day.

December 26, 2008

I think the chaos of the previous weeks, and the excitement of Christmas Day got to Tommy. He would not settle down, and he had me up most of the night. I finally got him settled down in my bed, and went to sleep on the couch. Wow, to finally get some rest….

Jeff woke me up about 8 a.m. to say he wasn't feeling well and was going over to Urgent Care. I remember kissing him goodbye and thinking he'd be gone for a couple hours and offering up a quick prayer that he would be safe and okay. Tyler got up, wondering where Daddy had gone. I kept napping, as Tommy was still asleep.

At 9:14 I got a phone call from the nurse at Urgent Care telling me that my husband was being transported to Harrison in Bremerton via ambulance because of his symptoms. Oh! Damn. Okay. Everybody is pretty much snowed in; I have three kids to take care of, 2 friends that are expecting me to pick them up, and a husband on his way to the ER. I called mom and made arrangements to meet her and pick her up to watch the kids at Grandpa's house. I called Melissa and told her that I wasn't coming to get her because Jeff was on his way to the hospital.

Travis helped get Tommy ready, I threw some stuff in the baby bags, Tyler helped carry stuff out the car. A quick prayer and we were on our way out to the main road. We made it too, or almost….if we hadn't had to stop for traffic we would have been fine, but we did have to stop, and we got stuck at the end of our road. Our prayer was answered, and we were only stuck about 15 minutes before a gentleman came up to help dig us out. A second man stopped and together they pushed until we were clear. Thank you, thank you, and thank you!

We picked up my mom, stopped at Jeff's truck for his cell phone, and then went to the hospital. When I got there Melissa and Geoff were waiting for me. The nurse took us to a waiting room and told us the doctor would talk to us when he was finished with Jeff. Melissa drove my mom and the kids up to Grandpa's house to wait for news. We figured that would be the most comfortable place for them.

While Melissa was gone, Geoff and I tried to talk about pleasant things, Christmas dinner, and the like. A nurse came out and told the couple across the waiting room that their wait would be a little longer, as a man had just come in through ER having a heart attack they were working on him now. That wasn't the nicest way to have my suspicions confirmed. Melissa came back, and we waited. Finally the nurse came back and led us to a small, private room to wait for the doctor. I don't remember exactly what the doctor said, Melissa or Geoff would probably remember better. He seemed like a nice man. The gist of it was Jeff had had a heart attack, the artery was completely blocked as opposed to partially blocked, they had inserted a stent, there was build-up in the other arteries as well, this had been coming on for years and years, his body had grown new blood vessels to try to compensate and those new blood vessels stopped it from being a lot worse, he would have to be on medication for the stent for a year, he would have to quit smoking.

Okay. Deep breath. Lots of prayers. We were led to the elevator and directed to a waiting room in the cardiac unit. I had no problem getting there, and it didn't take me long to break down once I was there. This was the last place I saw Grandma last year. I'm welling up with tears even now. We waited, and finally they wheeled Jeff up. We said hello, and they took him to get settled. We waited a bit longer, and then went to see him. He looked a whole lot better than I expected. I am so grateful he didn't die. We talked for a bit, I scooped up his stuff to take with me, told him I'd make some phone calls and take care of some business, and we'd be back. He needed to rest now anyway.

We drove up to Grandpa's house. I stopped on the way in to ask God for the right words to explain this to our children, and I wasn't disappointed. I calmly explained to the boys that Daddy has had a heart attack and would need to make some changes and take some time to recover. When I told them he had to quit smoking they cheered! They just needed to know that Daddy wasn't going to die. I filled my mom in quickly on what had happened, and then called Jeff's brother. Scott agreed to tell their mom for me, and I left that in his capable hands. Mom called and got Jeff added to the prayer chain. I was grateful that was done.

Melissa and Geoff were there for me every step of the way. They ran out to do my banking for me while I rocked my baby boy to sleep and got myself something to eat. Scott, Amanda, and Jeff's mom were at the hospital with him. After a bit I took the boys to see their Daddy on our way home. We ran into Scott, their sister, niece, and niece's boyfriend at the elevator. I knew we only needed to stay a minute, long enough for the boys to see he was okay. Jeff had plenty of family around to keep him company.

The boys visibly relaxed after seeing Jeff. They almost fell asleep in the car on the way home. We got stuck on our road, so everybody got out and pushed. We made it home safely and took a moment to breathe. Then Melissa and I went back to the hospital, taking his robe and some personal items for Jeff. Geoff and Mom stayed with the kids. Scott & Amanda stopped by to see if we were okay or needed anything.

After visiting with Jeff for a few minutes, Melissa and I went shopping. We got him some Word Search puzzle books, a silly top to play with, and a picture frame that I filled with pictures for his bedside table. We dropped those back off to a sleeping Jeff (except the pictures), and went home. It was the last night Melissa and Geoff stayed at our house.

Christmas Day

Jeff and Geoff got in a little after midnight. The adults sat up and talked for a bit before heading for bed.

Tyler was up at 4:00 a.m. I sent him back to bed until 6:30; but he was kind enough to let us sleep until 7:00 before getting up for stockings and presents. We got through the gift-giving craziness of the morning, and greeted Melissa and Geoff as they arose.

I don't recall if any of us had breakfast. I know that Jeff took Melissa and Geoff over to their family for Christmas, and then picked up my mom and Daymon for Christmas at our house. Mom made a turkey dinner at our house, because I had said I didn't want to do any work on this holiday. I just made the gravy. Scott and Amanda came over.

The boys played outside some on our white Christmas Day. We played a little Rock Band, but mostly just hung out for the day. Jeff wasn't' feeling well and he didn't want to do much. We were all pretty tired, so everybody went home fairly early, and everybody went to bed fairly early. All in all it was a nice Christmas Day.

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas!

We had a fun Christmas Eve. Melissa and Geoff were here for the night. Scott, Amanda, & Josh came over for the evening. We were really busy, but it was fun.

It was snowing, again, but Melissa and I snuck out to do some last minute shopping anyway. Jeff and Geoff got to go out and run some errands. The snow and wind brought down some big branches in our yard, I'm glad nobody got hurt. There were some amazing icicles in our front bushes. When we were all safely back at the house we made clam chowder and Jeff made his traditional bread. Yummy dinner.

Glad the kids weren't on the swing set.

Pretty Icicles

In the evening we dissected frogs. Yes, I said we dissected frogs. I volunteered Melissa to take the lead on that project. I never really like science class when I was a kid. The boys all started off a little bit squeamish about the whole thing, but by the end everybody was fascinated; poking around in there trying to identify the different parts became a bit of a party. I'm pretty sure we spent more than an hour with the frogs. We'll probably do it again in a few years.

Getting Started

This is Fun!

Check out the Webbed Feet!

What's That?

The kids got to open one gift each. Then Scott, Amanda, and Josh left for the night. I pulled out the "What God Wants for Christmas" interactive nativity that was in my church mailbox a couple weeks back and we went through the nativity story. That was a hit! I like that better than our "Night Before Christmas" tradition. Even Tommy stopped fussing long enough to listen to the poem and see what was in the boxes.

They went to bed at a reasonable time, but somehow the cookies didn't get left out for Santa....oh well. Santa didn't put any chocolate in the stockings this year either.

Snow!

It sure is pretty to look at, but being snow-bound for the last week before Christmas does present some difficulties....

Geoff did get to experience his first snow...amazing! I think he probably would be happy to never see snow again. It's been so cold here, and they were pretty much trapped at our house for almost a week. His hard work shoveling the driveway helped to get our van out today for a test drive. I think I can pretty much get out and about as long as the snow holds off, and starts to go away!

Jeff's truck was the only vehicle leaving our driveway. Jeff's boss called and told him not to come in Thursday, Friday, etc... He finally worked a semi-normal shift tonight. Tomorrow he'll work in the morning, being Christmas Eve.

Melissa, Geoff, and I did walk out to the main road a few days ago, just to take a look. Here's my Jeff coming home in his truck.

The children like the snow, and they like playing in it, but they are not getting enough exercise. They need to burn off some of their energy, or we will all go crazy being stuck in the house together. There seems to be lots of napping on the couch lately....

Hey, things are looking up! The temperature is rising! It's crept up above freezing!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Tuesday's Vegetable Soup

Melissa suggested I blog Tyler's soup, complete with pictures. So, here it is....

Doesn't that look good?

I think everybody enjoyed it.

Tyler ate his veggies!

We've been staying busy. I got spoiled a bit yesterday. Melissa made everyone a fabulous breakfast, then we got to spend the afternoon in Silverdale craft stores. Yay! Tyler made dinner, yummy. We had pumpkin pie and ice cream for desert. I felt like I was being a bit lazy.

Today I got my workout in. I got a call asking me to sub tonight at WOW! as several adult leaders will not be able to attend. Not sure what roll I'll be filling yet, teacher or nursery attendant.

Later!

I am so tired!

Dress Rehearsal at Church

I am way off my schedule, and desperately need to get back on it. I'm not eating right, not sleeping right...ugh!

Miss you Rainbow!