Update 10/17/24: Hectic Home

Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.”

Life has been a hectic whirlwind in our house. I apologize for not providing a recent update. Doctor appointments, school schedules, wedding plans, home projects, and so much more has kept us running. So here is a quick update/dump.

Update Wayne: Wayne continues to do his therapy two days a week, along with walking 2-3 days a week at the rec center. Although Wayne continues to beat the odds, it feels like a rollercoaster sometimes. It’s a wild ride! Some days things go really well and we understand Wayne, and other days, Wayne struggles to communicate clearly. There have been a couple days that were really hard. Once or twice, Wayne appeared to be confused and appeared to have short term memory issues. Thankfully, it was short lived and he seems back to normal. 

Wayne helped me clean at church the other day by vacuuming. 

Wayne enjoyed the pool for the last time for the season. It was too cold for me to join him.

We got new bedding for our room. Our kids joked that we had the same bedspread their whole lives. Our bedroom has been doubling as a wedding storage room…wedding stuff all over our room and dressers! 

We enjoyed a family movie night and watched Inside Out 2. Shan joked that the movie felt like a window into his sister’s minds…Wayne and I agreed! 

Shan had dislocated his knee a few weeks ago. He’s now doing PT to strengthen his knee.

My dad had some skin cancer cut out the other day and I was his chauffeur. I enjoyed having some quiet time to prepare for my next Bible study on 1 Peter. 

Wayne and I loved getting to watch Joella be inducted into the Beta Club at her school. She is the club’s chaplain. I love seeing the girls thriving and enjoying their time at school!

Wayne and I enjoyed seeing the Northern Lights from our front porch. We missed them last time it was this south because we were headed to Abigail’s college graduation, so this was a treat. It was beautiful!!

Micaela and I helped paint my parent’s fence. We know why the big KY horse farms use paint sprayers to paint all their miles of fence…it’s a lot of work!

Naomi drove up north to visit friends during fall break. I love that she got to see Sarah and Sammy, and that they are such wonderful friends. 

Sophia and her friend practiced their HOCO presentation on us. They were trying to convince us parents about their altered HOCO plans. Apparently, it worked!

Joella, Micaela, and I have been gathering items for the people of NC and TN with my friend Carla at church. Our church family and community rallied around us and brought in tons of items. I love the girl’s hearts for others. They have spent two of their fall break days helping us with this project! 

We baked cookies for 4 hours this morning to bring to families in TN/NC.

Micaela and Joella helped me start decorating for Abigail’s shower on Saturday. We have more work tomorrow, but we made a lot of progress today. I cannot believe my oldest is getting married in under 60 days!!

Update Rebecca: there has been a lot going on in our lives, which means I have been juggling a lot. I have been having some odd twinges lately, which can quickly spiral me to worry. I’ve struggled some times making sure that I’m proactive about my health, but not becoming a worry wort about every little thing I feel. It’s hard not to overthink things when your body tried killing you once before. 

Sometimes trying to navigate it all: my health, Wayne’s health, the kids, and life, it’s hard…like really hard. Some day it’s hard to breathe and not feel overwhelmed. But then life comes along and puts things in perspective. After seeing the carnage that the hurricanes did, especially in NC, it gives one pause. At least we have a home, heat, clothes, food, etc. Wayne and I helped serve in eastern KY after they had their major flood. I remember how bad things were there, so I can only imagine how bad TN/NC is. Having seen the devastation in KY helped spur my desire to help those in NC. Perspective impacts everything. 

On top of it all, we recently learned of others who have been diagnosed with brain cancer. Two people from my old CC community know people who have been diagnosed (a dad and a boss). I hate the cancer and what it does to lives. 

Prayer Requests:

Wayne - for his continued health. 

Rebecca - for all that I have to juggle, for endurance, and for my health. 

Kids - pray for all of us as we deal with teenagers, hormones, jobs, school, wedding.

Please pray for my friend Melanie’s dad who is in Texas undergoing treatment for GBM. Please also pray for Shane and Heather as they navigate doctors and try to find a solution for his brain tumor. Finally, please pray for my friend Lisa who is mourning the loss of her partner from brain cancer.

Update 9/27/24: Stormy

Psalm 107:28-31 “Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and Hw guided them to their desired haven. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind.”

Today has been a crazy day with the remnants of Hurricane Helene blowing through Kentucky, which left a mess in its wake. We have to find someone to fix some flashing on our roof, I had to fix a faux wall Wayne built to hide our garbage cans, and I had to chase down a bunch of items that blew away today. I’m sure what we have experienced is only a fraction of the tragedy south of us. I had to go to our Airbnb and prepare it for guests. It was wild to have to drive through the storm. I enjoyed it much more when I was safely back at home.  

It has been a crazy week full of appointments. Lots of trips to Lexington this week! Monday started with cleaning our airbnb and Wayne’s therapy. Tuesday was his pulmonologist appointment followed by Micaela’s orthodontist appointment. 

Wayne’s appointment went well. We will wait for old tests to be delivered so the doctor can compare them and see what we need to do, if anything. It appears like the spot is stable right now, but we will keep an eye on it a year from now.

Shan slipped and fell on Wednesday. He hurt his knee on his amputated leg. I took him in Thursday to be seen since he was limping. He will need to go to PT for a few weeks and we will see if it gets better or if he needs an MRI. His knee had dislocated when he fell. Since it’s on his amputated, it makes treatment complicated. He can’t wear a knee brace because his prosthetic doesn’t fit. It’s always interesting to see how many things we take for granted, like the ability to wear a brace when we get injured. Thankfully, he’s a rockstar with his crutches and is pretty resilient.

Thursday afternoon I visited the doctor to check my bee sting (see story below). After my appointment, I just stayed in Lexington to see Sophia and Micaela promote at Civil Air Patrol (further down).

Funny Story: Rebecca vs the bumble bee

On Monday, I went to our Airbnb to clean it. When I was preparing to leave, I noticed that there were some weeds that needed to be pulled. I preceded to pull weeds and toss them in the garbage bag I was taking out to the can. When I carried the bag to the can, I heard a buzzing sound and realized there was a bumblebee stuck inside the bag. I decided that I would let it out so that it wouldn’t die. It immediately flew and landed right on my chest. I’m not necessarily afraid of bugs, but I don’t like a bug to fly at me and land on me…especially one that could sting me. I flung it off and it landed on me again. We repeated this a few times with me getting a little more animated and loud. I then ran around my van to try to escape it…and it flew after me. I jumped in the car and slammed the door and thought, “Now I’m safe!” It was then that I realized I had to go back into the house and turn off the dryer. I ran into the house, turned off the dryer, and went back into the van. I went to buckle my seatbelt when I saw the bumblebee once again on me! I screamed and flung open the door with it chasing me again. It chased me two times around the van before I could get inside and shut the door. I watched, from safety, that dumb bumblebee fly around the van looking for me. If it wanted to thank me, that is not the way to do that! I called Wayne to tell him that I’m glad we don’t have neighbors close by there because I’m sure I was a sight to behold screaming and flailing my arms to escape. As I’m telling Wayne the about the encounter, I noticed that my leg, where the bumblebee had been the last time, was burning. It was in that moment, as my adrenaline was retuning to normal levels, that I realized the bee had stung me! So much for thanking me for saving its life. Moral of the story: let the bee die!

I haven’t been stung by a bee in years. I don’t miss the experience.

Micaela rescued a bull frog from our pool filter. It took her 30 minutes, but she loves animals so much, she said it was worth it.

Sophia promoted to Captain and received her Amelia Earhart award. She is the 21,390th person to get the award in all of CAP since 1964. She also received another challenge coin. She amazes me! I know God has exciting things in store for her life.

Micaela was prompted as well. She has been growing up before our eyes. My little girl is gone.

I enjoyed having lunch with my friend Janica. I realized during lunch that I am old enough to be her mom! 👀 We discovered a great Asian restaurant near her house.

Prayer Requests:

- Wayne: please pray that the doctors receive the paperwork quickly about his lungs and that we are good for waiting a year for his next scan. 

- Please pray for our friends Mary and Lisa as Mary’s on hospice and not doing well. 

- For a quick recovery for Shan and that there is no long term damage to his leg. 

- Please pray for my MIL, who just had knee surgery, to have a quick recovery.