Now Surgery

Mom and my niece Sara

The orthopedic surgeon came in to see my mom this evening and delivered her the bad news. The break/s is/are quite serious and she needs surgery. He said this type of break needed to be repaired within six hours and since so much time has passed, they will need to replace several pieces with artificial parts. Surgery will probably be Tuesday. There are so many pieces broken that it has impeded blood flow and consequently the bone is dying. He also told her he will get her arm moving but she will probably not be able to lift her arm up ever again. This is devastating news for my mom. My sister and I remained calm but, I admit, I had a huge lump in my throat when the doctor told us this news. Now we all know that anything is possible when we pray in Jesus' name and I know you will all continue to pray. Please know that your prayers mean so much to me and thank you for the continual prayers. Miracles still happen. Just maybe my mom will get one.

Update On My Mom

My mother had a miserable night and, after speaking to the orthopedic surgeon's nurse, we were advised to take mom to emergency. We took her early this morning and spent the day in ER while they ran numerous tests. CT scan of her head, X-Rays, ultrasound on her carotid arteries, etc. She was admitted to Bakersfield Memorial Hospital this evening. They have put an open-sided cast around her elbow and up to her shoulder to immobilize her shoulder. Sometimes the pain was so great she became incoherent. They have now put her on a Morphine pump and gave her Percodan orally. That seemed to help her pain level. The results of the CT scan were good. We don't know about the arteries yet. The ortho tech said she "really did it good," meaning it is a terrible break. She is so swollen on her right side she looks like a one-sided football player. We are convinced she blacked out, fainted, had a small stroke, or something to cause her to collapse and fall. The doctor is concerned about that and wanted to thoroughly check her out. The swelling will have to lessen before further work can be done on her shoulder. Thank you for your prayers and please continue to pray for her.

Random Pics

Animal print purse and camo boots.

The girl has her own sense of style!

A sr. camper braided Bryn's hair during the all-star basketball game.
Security team member, Greg, had a small motorcycle he used to get around camp.
Bryn just had to have a picture on the bike.

Prayer Request

Please pray for my mother. She fell this afternoon and is in severe pain. The cause of the fall is undetermined and she can't remember anything about the fall. It appears as if she may have fainted in the hot weather while watering her trees because she does not have any scratches on her hands. We do know her shoulder is broken. (The ball-shaped end of the humerus, which rests in a shallow cup called the glenoid fossa, broke in several places and went over the edge of the cup.) It looks as if her nose may be broke, too. She has a scratched up knee and forehead. Brian cleaned little pebbles out of her forehead and knee. She is supposed to see an orthopedic surgeon in the morning. The pain has been excruciating at times. She gave us a huge scare when we tried to change her clothes and her blood pressure fell to 67/37 with a pulse of 42. We have been monitoring her every few minutes and her blood pressure is stabilized. She is a very independent 82 year old and hates for anybody to do anything for her. Your prayers are greatly appreciated.

Look, Mom, No Training Wheels!

Teaching kids how to ride a bike has become a camp tradition for Brian. He has taught many kids throughout the years but this year it was Bryn's turn. She begged daddy to remove the training wheels so she could ride like the big kids.

Moments later, she was zooming around the camp. Thank you, daddy, for making her day!

The New Cast

Blake is now sporting a shorter cast. Like the first one, this cast glows in the dark and looks as green as his shirt after the lights go out in a dark room. The first one, was above the elbow and just past his knuckles with his hand curved downwards. The shorter cast allows him to move his elbow and fingers. He still can't write because of the way his hand is curved, but he is much more comfortable. When we got in the truck after getting the new cast, I snapped a picture with my cell phone. Being bored, I played with the effects and turned the picture into a cartoon caricature.

Meet Polly

One day at camp, this cute little bird landed near the motorhome and Sparkles chased it underneath the rig. One of the senior campers, Eric, helped Bryn and Blake catch the bird and Eric wanted to take it home. They found a Capri Sun box, put the bird in it and added a carrot stick. Realizing camp wouldn't be over for a few more days, I took the kids to PetSmart and got "Polly" a cage and some cockatiel food. When the kids got back to camp with the cage, they were so excited and wanted to find Eric to show him their "surprise" for him. Polly loves to sing and is now living in Northern California somewhere near the Bay area with Eric and his family.

Words? Pictures?

It has been said, "A picture is worth a thousand words," and yet my friend Helen creates "pictures" with just a few words. While Helen's words make my imagination race, words sometimes fail me and I resort to photos. If you are already bored with my summer happenings, click out now. LOL Below are pics of our visit to Morro Bay and Black Mountain. We started by driving to the "Rock" and watching the waves then to the Salt Water Taffy shop, on to Giovanni's for shrimp cocktail, down the Embarcadero to see Bud at Anderson Inn and the newly remodeled Galley restaurant. From there, we drove through the state park and up to Black Mountain. Just have to do all these things when we visit Morro Bay.

The big rock is still there and Pelicans still paint the small rocks by the shore.
It is tradition to snap a pic on the rocks by the water.

Deer on the golf course as we ride up to Black Mountain.

The road through the golf course to Black Mountain.

The hazy/foggy view from Black Mountain.

It seems as though they have just claimed undiscovered territory on the top of Black Mountain.

More Pictures from Camp

Eating at Applesbee's.

Bryn put the coasters behind her ears and turned into an alien.
Then, she turned Daddy into an alien.

Part of the Camp Meeting crowd.

Hugging Grandma Wilson at Applebee's.

Blake with his famous broken arm.

To summarize camp...

It is a place to meet friends, enjoy beautiful weather, relax, there is something for every age, excellent preaching, inspirational teaching, anointed choirs, soloists, musicians, lots of laughter, and enthusiasm. Everyone should leave feeling spiritually refreshed and desiring to share God's love.

Santa Maria Times Link EDITED

I know I already posted this, but I thought I should let you know what the "real" Alexa looks like. She was such a good sport about having her face in the news plastered with peanut butter and M & M's so I thought I would give her a shout out with a picture that shows her pretty face.

Below is a link to the Santa Maria Times which has an article about camp. The girl pictured, Alexa Anders, was born and raised in my church. She started singing in KIDZ Choir at two years old and has been singing ever since. She is a character and I love her to pieces.
http://www.santamariatimes.com/articles/2008/08/13/news/centralcoast/news03.txt

WAY Choir At Camp Meeting

Some of you have probably seen this video of WAY Choir on Shirley Buxton's blog, but please allow me to share it with other bloggers and lurkers. The choir had sang several songs with varied tempo's and style when they started a new song about "grace." The song featured several different solos and then ended by tagging on this old hymn. It was a beautiful combination of old and new but what touched me most was the tender spirits which the choir members displayed in their worship to the Almighty God. As the old hymn progressed, the music backed out and the anointing of God swept across the tent flowing to the congregation. It was a special moment where young and old worshipped together with sincerity, tenderness, and awe. As a parent, I could not be happier to see my son with hands lifted high giving his talent and praise to God. This choir is a notch above the rest in my books.

Birds of a Feather...

My sister, Paula, is going to hate me after this post, but I just couldn't resist. LOL Here's the deal - - - one of the fun things at camp is to visit the exhibit hall and browse the various booths. Some booths are artists (such as freeWAY), books, clothes, curriculum, food, acessories, and lots of feathers, ribbons, and bows for ladies and girls hair. Sara, my niece, has several boxes with a huge variety of hair ornaments and my sister decided to have fun with all the feathers. She proceeded to put on nearly all of Sara's feathers and then told Bryn she could just walk around and sell them instead of having a booth. This sent Bryn into a fit of giggles. (I'm sure you would agree with Bryn after seeing the above pictures.) Bryn and grandma dared Paula to walk next door to where fellow blogger, Shirley Buxton, was parked and ask if she wanted to buy any feathers. Paula stepped out of the motorhome and walked around to the Buxton's rig and then we heard yelps and squeals of laughter. Shirley took a picture and Paula then begged her not to put it on her blog. Well.......I decided it is easier to get forgiveness than permission so here's the pics. LOL When Paula came back into the motorhome, she put all the feathers in Bryn's hair so Bryn could parade around the camp. Yep, camp is fun! I have to add, Bryn thinks her Auntie Paula is the greatest in the world!

Home At Last!

It has been said, "There is no place like home." My response is a loud, "Amen!" We are now home and I am ready to get in my bed. The above picture is the kids and Sparkles on the cart at

camp. Bryn is showing off her "straight" hair, Blake is miserable in a sling, Bryce is scruffy after a long day of work, and Sparkles was just glad to be held. More tomorrow!

We Have An Awesome God

Happiness keeps you sweet,

Trials keep you strong,

Sorrows keep you human,

Failures keep you humble,

Success keeps you glowing,

But..........

Only God keeps you going.

Below is an update on Timo Simoneaux from the regional director Vickie Richardson. Thank you for your prayers. Truly God is the only One who can keep us going.


We were so happy to go by and visit Timothy one more time before we left for the airport heading back to the States. His port for the intravenous antibiotics was removed. All medicines have been completed with the exception of one pill the doctor wants him to continue taking until he gets to Houston. His appetite is improving daily and he is definitely getting stronger and stronger each day, if not a little "im-patient". Timothy was joking, looking (and acting) like his old self. He is anxious to leave the hospital. The family will remain in Johannesburg another six days before attempting the long airplane flight back to the States. They need time just to rest and get over the ordeal. The doctor did not want Timo traveling too soon.
While we were leaving, the orderly came to take Timo and his parents to the building where he would have his audio testing. We knew he was not hearing from the one ear, but was hoping that it was a temporary situation. The test results indicate that he is permanently deaf in the one ear and has some hearing loss in the other. Although the news was disappointing, we still have to praise the Lord for all He has done for Timothy. The ENT doctor said, looking at his charts, that he was a very lucky boy indeed, to be alive after all the infection and trauma of the meningitis. Of course, we know it is more than "luck", it is definitely the Hand of the Lord keeping him and healing him.
Please join with us to pray for this situation. The Lord is able to heal that ear no matter how "permanent" his hearing loss may be reported by the doctors. We also ask your prayers for peace and strength for the whole family and especially for Timothy. We just pray that he can be as strong as he has been through these last days of recovery and recognize the miracles in his life done by the Hand of God.Thanks again for all the prayers and the concerns you have shown for this precious missionary family. Jerry and Vickie Richardson, Regional Director, AFRICA

P.S. I am having difficulty posting pictures so they may have to wait until I return home. Sr. Camp is under new leadership this year and is running very smoothly.

As Our World Turns

My apologies for taking so long to give an update concerning all the drama we have had. :) We left the camp at 6:00 AM Tuesday morning and headed to get a new X-Ray and then on to the surgeon's office. Upon reviewing the new X-Ray, he determined there was not a third break (thanks to your prayers). Then, he told us we needed to go to the hospital and register for surgery the next day. We hurried to the hospital, where they drew blood and went through Blake's health history, to prepare for the procedure. Blake was disappointed but handled this unexpected news quite well. We made the 2 1/2 hour drive back to camp, I sang that night, and then we left at 3:00 AM to return to the hospital for the scheduled surgery at 7:30 AM. Blake seemed scared and tears were in his eyes until the anesthesiologist calmed him. When the wheeled him in to the operating room he smiled. About 45 minutes later, the doctor came and told us everything went well and gave us some new X-Rays to see. Blake now has a glow-in-the-dark cast that extends above his elbow. He had some swelling and pain Wednesday night but that was better Thursday morning. He is learning how to button his pants with one hand and pull on his socks. All in all, he is doing better than expected. I have not had the time to download my pictures, but will hopefully do so in the next couple days. Thank you so much for your prayers. I know they have been working.
P.S. WAY Choir and freeWAY sang last night and they were outstanding. The camp meeting has been fabulous.

Prayer Request

My friend Tracie, is a pastor's wife in Texas and her nephew is a MK (missionary kid) in Africa. He is suffering a serious case of meningitis and is in need of prayer. You can visit Tracie's blog at the link below for updates concerning her nephew Timo. Please pray for him.
www.tsmithconroe.blogspot.com

Thank You, Helen & Jolene

Although I have not yet read them, I was told you two posted prayer requests for Blake. Your prayers and solicitation of more prayer is greatly appreciated. You are examples of, "..that's what friends are for..."

Helen, I did receive your e-mail but for some reason I cannot send e-mail. Thanks for your concern and love.

Update On Blake

Accept my apologies for the delay in posting. I don't have any pics yet and have been overwhelmed with doctors, urgent care, ER, etc.

The first day on the job (Monday), Brian smacked his head on a forklift and gave himself about a 2 inch gash. An EMT cleaned the wound and, after some time, suggested stitches. Without boring you with the details, we were run around by our insurance so long it finally became too late to stitch the wound. It finally stopped bleeding eight hours later and he will have a nasty scar. The scar won't really be seen as long as he can keep hair on his head. Now that could be a problem. LOL

Wednesday, Blake was lacing seams. He paused to fetch something from the semi-trailer and then jumped out. He landed wrong breaking his radius and ulner about 1/2 inch above the wrist. This turned into another fiasco with urgent care, ER, insurance, sleepless night, etc. We finally drove three hours home to the same surgeon that took care of Brian last year and the doctor said Blake was too swollen to take any action. Blake's arm is in a heavy, hard splint with a sling. He is in tremendous pain an hour before he can take the next pain pill. We will return to Bakersfield on Tuesday, get another X-Ray and return to the surgeon. The doctor is suspicious another bone may be broke closer to his elbow due to his exam of Blake's finger movement. The surgeon did give us good news saying he didn't think he would have to do surgery. Because of Blake's age and size of his bones, the doctor thinks the bones may re-set themselves when the swelling goes down. If not, the doctor will re-set them on Tuesday and then cast it. Blake is anxious for the cast because it will be much lighter than the splint. I will let you know what happens on Tuesday.