Keith Cried

Keith was moved out of ICU and transferred to a Kaiser facility where he will continue to recover. His progress was so good today, that he may be discharged within a couple days. His coworkers wanted to send him flowers but he could not have flowers in ICU. Instead, they gave him money for a Bible. Keith has been wanting a Thompson Chain Study Bible with his name stamped on it for a long time. Today, Brian took him the new Bible with "Keith W. Smith" stamped in metallic letters on the front. When Brian handed Keith the Bible, Keith held it to his heart and cried. Next, Brian gave him a card from Bryn's Sunday School class and it had a prayer cloth in it that her class had prayed over. That brought more tears. Keith is a very tender-hearted, sweet guy with a deep love for God. During many of their concerts, Keith has reached out to hurting and broken people and they have been healed and restored. With the healing power of Jesus, Keith will sing again, minister again, and give God all the glory.

Happy Birthday, Good Lookin'!

3 months old
2 years old

a collector's knife given to him by Joy, his nanny

The candles set the cake aglow!

"Good Lookin'

Building a gingerbread house at Sunday School

Twelve years ago, my white-as-milk, red-headed son, Blake, was born. Most of the time I call him, "Good Lookin'." Blake is brilliant, sensitive, compassionate, caring, tender hearted, precocious, curious, a sore loser, a high achiever, and handsome. He loves soccer, Wii, Playstation, plays saxophone in his school band, takes piano lessons, is a GATE student, and can't wait to get to his Sunday School class each week. I love this kid beyond measure but the greatest thing, he loves me in return.

HAPPY 12th BIRTHDAY, BLAKE!!!

Keith Is Improving

Last evening, Keith's fever went down, he talked to his mom, and walked a few feet down the ICU hall. If you know Keith, you know he is ALWAYS talking so his injuries had to be bad to silence him. Just knowing he is talking again convinces me he is on the road to getting well.

Update On My Patients :)

Today has been frustrating. A different doctor came in today and scared Keith saying he's concerned about his stomach but wouldn't give him any specifics. Keith's fever was up again last night and he is asking for Brian. Hopefully, Brian will return to the hospital to be with Keith in another day or two.

Bryce has been dizzy all day and doesn't want any noise. More bruises are appearing on his body and he is just miserable.

Brian has a difficult time getting up and down and it has been a little more difficult to breathe today. When Keith called him saying, "Dad, this doctor is scaring me..," Brian became very upset. He wishes he was at the hospital now.

In the middle of all this, I am cooking spaghetti for Blake's birthday. His grandma and grandpa and my family will be here soon and we will have a quiet dinner to celebrate Blake turning 12.

No 2nd Surgery for Keith

Prayer changes things. Yesterday Keith's surgeon gave only 3% chance he would not do surgery and today Keith's blood counts were better and surgery has been postponed. Doctor said, "He's not out of the woods yet," but we are feeling great about this positive turn. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you, Jesus.

Update On Brian & Bryce & 2nd Surgery for Keith

This picture is Keith singing with WAY Choir at their concert at Six Flags Magic Mountain this past September.
Keith will be in surgery again tomorrow at 1:00 pm. Tonight his temperature rose which presented more concern. All the personnel at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital have been so kind and we feel confident he is in good care. Keith's mom was finally able to get to the hospital today. Brian had promised Keith he would not leave him until a member of his family arrived.

Brian came home today and I took him to urgent care. He has lung contusions, extensive bruising on his chest, and a severe whiplash. Bryce has a concussion, bruising all over his body, and whiplash. With rest and time, they should feel fine soon.

Keith is our main concern and we pray God guides the surgeons hands and sends quick healing to his body.

Surgery For Keith

Things have changed and Keith will remain at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and is currently in surgery. He is very nervous and scared and needs the Spirit of God to bring him peace and comfort. Using my blog to ask for prayer is one thing I can do for him and I thank all of you who are reading and then upholding Keith in prayer.

Need More Prayer

When Keith was transferred out of ICU last night, it was thought he might be released today but he developed a fever during the night. He is also on a heart monitor linked to the nurses station. He wanted to sit up and move from the bed to the chair. When he stood up, his nurse rushed in and told him to lay down because his heart was doing things it should not. Now there is talk of transferring him to a different hospital. I'm confident God will continue to heal Keith if we make our petitions known to Him. Thanks again for your prayers.

Prayer Changes Things

Thank you, everyone, for your prayers. Keith was moved from ICU late Tuesday night and put in a telemetry room. He was given some broth and jello which he was able to process. God heard our prayers and Keith will not need surgery. Thank you, Jesus!! If all goes well, he may possibly be released Wednesday.

I went to the crash site, saw the marks on the road, the depth of the ravine, and was amazed once again of how God spared the lives of Brian, Bryce, and Keith. Afterwards, I went to see the car and took some more pictures. The trunk was smashed equal to the back window yet the back window did not break. All windows on the passenger side of the car were broken, there were two head marks on the windshield where Brian and Bryce's heads broke the windshield, Bryce's left hip hit the center console so hard it completely broke it off, his left shoulder broke the seatbelt holder from its place on the doorpost, Brian's chest suffered from hitting the steering wheel, the airbags DID NOT deploy, and yet all lives were spared. There are so many other things but I will spare you all the details. God is just amazing and always there when we are in need.

Thank God They Are All Alive

Tonight, I am thanking God for sparing the lives of my husband, son, and the tenor of freeWAY, Keith Smith. They were traveling home after ministering in Eureka this weekend when a back tire blew causing the car to roll several times. Keith is in ICU at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for observation of internal bleeding. Brian and Bryce have cuts, bruises, and are quite banged up but otherwise okay. I will be leaving early in the morning to travel to the hospital. I ask you to pray for Keith's healing and join me in thanks to God for His protection.

The car rolled 489 feet and landed in a ravine five feet from a tree.
The trunk top was somewhere else in the brush.

It WAS a Lincoln LS but lost it's trunk while rolling. Notice, the car ends right behind the gas cap.

On the tow trailer

Save Yourself

News around the world is touting the US Airways pilot as a hero for saving so many lives. While I do think this pilot deserves kudos for such a tremendous handling of the aircraft, I did pause to contemplate something. Did the pilot save all the people on board or did he save himself? Well, we know he saved himself and the others on board but in such a situation, I would tend to believe this pilot was intent on saving himself from certain destruction. In saving himself, he also saved those in close proximity. Scripture speaks of saving yourself. If one would focus on salvation, chances are those nearest would follow and be saved. Diligently seeking the path of righteousness will cause one to be Christ like. You will save others, when you save yourself.

Winter Camp Meeting In San Diego

Rev. Lee Stoneking
Pastor Jim Larson

Karen singing/directing the impromptu choir

It was my first time to attend Winter Camp Meeting at The Anchor in San Diego and I am thrilled I was able to go and participate. Ushers set extra chairs in the aisles to accommodate the crowd. The nightly speaker was Rev. Lee Stoneking who spoke prophetically and powerfully each night. Karen Harding and freeWAY sang each night. Karen Harding was great and, well, you know how I feel about the quartet. They were fabulous! I missed taking pictures of them because I was so focused on their performance! LOL Pastor Jim Larson had called my husband to ask if I would be attending and he insisted I sing, too. I sang Saturday night and at both Sunday services. One of the highlights of the weekend was an impromptu choir under the direction of Karen Harding. A few years ago, The Anchor choir was asked to participate in a recording with Mark Lowry. Pastor Larson got to thinking it would be great for the "ReMARKable" choir to sing since the director, Karen, was there. People quickly came from their seats to the platform and they did an awesome job. If I can get Brian to download the videos of the quartet, I will share them.

Have a blessed day!

Keep Climbing

Great is the road I climb, but the garland offered by an easier effort is not worth the gathering.
- Propertius

I Have Not Left Blogging

It could be thought I have left blogging since I haven't posted since Monday. Currently, I am in beautiful San Diego, California at Winter Camp Meeting '09 at The Anchor. Renowned international speaker Lee Stoneking, is the featured guest along with Karen Harding and freeWAY. I am hoping to remember to take my camera out of my purse and take some pictures. This Camp Meeting started last night and will continue tonight and two services tomorrow. Rev. and Mrs. Larson are the pastors of The Anchor and have been great hosts. We have enjoyed their fellowship. Of course, it is always great to be with our dear friend Karen Harding. The girl can s-a-y-n-g. You just have to hear her to understand why I said "sayng" instead of "sang." Visit her website at www.karenharding.com to hear clips from her albums.

A Wedding Week-end

Bride Anna & Maid-of-Honor Jessica This cake was set on a glass top end table. Quite interesting.
A very different table set-up with a tree through the center.
The show included a fashion show. I loved the hanging "chandeliers."
I took some close pictures so I could figure out how to make it.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Saturday, we drove to San Diego for the wedding of Anna. We drove back that night and Sunday afternoon I went to a bridal show. Before you start questioning, let me answer. No, Bryce is not getting married. He was modeling tuxedos for this event. Often, I am involved in decorating for various events and bridal shows are an excellent place to get ideas. I decided to share a few pics with you.

Therapy and More Therapy

Today, I took my mother to her therapy appointment and thought I should give a new update for those of you who keep asking how she is doing. A couple weeks ago, she fell again and thought she may have further damaged her arm. Fortunately, she was inside on carpet this time. Her doctor took x-rays and they were compared to the previous x-rays. It was determined she did not damge the arm further but possibly had some broken ribs. Her ribcage is quite calcified and has extensive deterioration from osteoporosis. The doctor said the x-rays were too difficult to see but he felt certain she had broken a few ribs. So, she missed therapy a few times and her arm was beginning to stiffen. She is now back on a hard regimen of therapy. The arm hurts most all the time but I believe it is improving. She is using the arm more often but cannot handle very much weight.

After therapy, we went to lunch and then she wanted to go to Marshall's. Falling, surgery, or pain, cannot take away her shopper's heart. LOL We browsed the sales, she tried on a few pair of boots, and after selecting a few bargains we headed home.

P.S. The above pic is mom and Bryce last year.

2009 Is Here!

To your neighbor be kind, in '09.

At the Lord's table dine, in '09.

Jesus (joy, victory...) is mine, in '09.

The devil we bind, in '09.

All is fine, in '09.

Walk the straight the line, in '09.

For heaven I pine, in '09.

New souls find, in '09.

Drink wine from the heavenly vine, in '09.

And my favorite...

Don't whine, in '09.