Another semester down, and all the updates that come with that...

That's right!  Another semester is behind us, and wow did it seem to go by fast.  Maybe because it's summer time, maybe because of wishful thinking, or maybe just because hindsight is better than foresight...who knows?  Semester #3 is gone, and a fresh, shiny new one will start tomorrow.  Along with it will come new faces that we welcomed at the hail party this weekend.  It's strange to think of Kerry as an upperclassman now, but it's a very good thing!  I'm so proud of my straight-A student!  That, and he was chosen to be a member of a committee for the AANA.  Pretty swank, huh?   But we all know how special he is, so I'll stop.  I'm just SO proud of him and his accomplishments.  This time next year (dare I say it) we'll be looking at other places to live!  YAY!  The end is in sight.

At the end of the semester we had a little free time to take a little vacation from PCB.  Of all places, Kerry chose New Orleans. I was skeptical to say the least, but it turned out to be a wonderful trip!  (Mostly because I like to eat, haha...)  We spent the better part of 3 days and 2 nights in a beautifully restored old home that is now a B&B on Esplanade.  The owner is a fabulous cook, too (absinthe in the sauce on the crepes? Hello?!)  We had a good time touring the city on foot and taking in the music at night.  We will be going back because there is so much more to do than we were able in the time allotted.

We also took a canoe trip nearby to us here in PCB on the Econfina Creek.  I have never seen more beautiful blue water existing in nature.  It was a nice retreat from the usual busy highway and tourist filled places here in Bay County.  This will be a definite return trip for us as well.

The trips were fun while they lasted, but it's back to life, back to reality tomorrow bright and early.  It sure is good to have Otis back home (he stayed with my parents while we were gone), and maybe get back into a routine of sorts.  Until then, the countdown rolls on.  ;)

Bye bye, wisdom teeth!

It was nice to have a day off on Friday, except the reason I was off was to get these pesky wisdom teeth out once and for all!  I put it off way too long.  As far as procedures go, I'll say I've had worse, but the recovery hasn't been so fun.  I don't remember much after the doc said he was putting meds in my IV that would make me cough (which did...ha).  The next thing I knew, I was awake and had a mouthfull of gauze!  All I wanted to do was sleep, so that's what I did, and let me tell you, that was the BEST SLEEP EVER!!!  It was so nice to have my mom and dad here to take care of me.  And Kerry was there, too, just as soon as he could get away from the O.R. on Friday.  Even Otis wanted to be in the bed with me and right in my face.  Such a sweet weenie dog :)

Everything is going fine though!  The right side hasn't hurt the first time, but the left is still a little sore because of the way the sutures are positioned. Not much swelling at all either.  Hopefully it won't last too much longer.  Things are looking up because I got my first solid food down this evening, and I will be going back to work tomorrow.

Since I last posted, we found out we will be having a NEPHEW!  YAY!  I can't think of a better Christmas gift for that side of the family. =)

I know I would normally post a picture, but since there wasn't much makeup or hairstyling going on this weekend, I decided to spare you this time ;)

Til next time!

Updates, updates, updates

I realize what a terrible job I've been doing keeping my blog updated lately!  I'm so sorry :(

I've been going home to Andalusia every weekend since Dad's surgery to keep a check on him and mom, and I'm happy to report he's doing fabulously!  He also got an A+ checkup from his cardiologist yesterday, and was told to keep up the good work. 

On to my laundry list of woes...or so it seems! HA!  I saw my (new) new neurologist last week, and have quickly decided that he's gonna have to earn my trust.  He put me on some new medications and was talking about possibly doing nerve blocks, which I am 99.9% against.  On top of that, after my appointment Wednesday, I woke up Thursday with an infected wisdom tooth that very rapidly got worse.  That being said, I now have an appointment to have my wisdom teeth removed on the 18th of this month.  Nice.  So here's hoping that procedure goes well, and the healing is as rapid as the problem started ;)

Kerry and Otis are still doing quite well and both are keeping me going!  Kerry's still making awesome grades and racking up cases in the O.R., and O is just his usual wonderful self.  I'll post later on and let you know how the teeth turn out, as well as how the discussion goes with Dr. Makki about shots in the back of my head (that I don't want...).

God Bless!

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

Happy 29th anniversary to my sweet parents!  I'm so happy DAD CAME HOME today!  =D
What a way to celebrate an anniversary, right? Things are looking good for him.  Now they're beginning the recovery time, which won't be easy or fun, so please continue to remember them in your prayers. 

OK...on another note...What's up with the baby boom?  I glanced through my facebook friends list and counted on my fingers the number of people I know that are expecting and came up with a grand total of...get this...18!!!  WOW.  And everyone is due in Nov/Dec/Jan.  Whatever's in the air or water, I don't want it, so get me a mask and hide me!  Seriously, CONGRATS to all of you, and to the 2 of you that just had yours, CONGRATS to you, and to the one of you having TWINS (!!) DOUBLE CONGRATS :)    AND.........Kerry and I will be changing our names to UNCLE KERRY and AUNT COLIE ;)  How exciting!!  I'm pulling for a niece, myself.  (hint hint) So, congrats to Erin and Josh.  Can't wait to meet the little one!

What a busy Christmas this will be!

The Long Day is Over

I borrowed the title from Norah Jones, but that's exactly how I felt as I lay my head down on a guest bed at Aunt Mary's house last night.  It was a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng day, but a success according to all doctors and nurses involved.  

I had planned to drive up yesterday morning before dad's surgery to wish him well, but as I slept the night before, plans were changed and his surgery was moved to the first one of the day.  I guess so I wouldn't worry or try to drive too early, my parents elected not to tell me this tidbit, so by the time I was up and moving things were already in process!  I wasn't mad, but it didn't necessarily slow my driving ;)

He was already back for prepping when I got to Dothan, so I sat in the waiting room with my family and waited, waited, waited.  He did just fine!  Not sure exactly how long the surgery lasted but phonecall to phonecall was nearly 5 hours.  (plenty long in my opinion)  Now the fun part begins, and he's already back to some of his ways.  He spoke to us precious little yesterday, but that's to be expected - not too surprising the first thing he asked me specifically about was Otis.  How do you like that?!  With his good progress, we're hoping he moves to a regular room and out of ICU today, and hopefully home over the weekend.  The doctor and nurses all assure us he is doing spectacularly.

Thank you all for your prayers, and I'll go ahead and ask for more, because he's gonna need all he can get over the coming weeks!  Recovery is tough, but for this guy it's gonna be tougher.  He already wants to know when he can play golf again, and he's worried about things at work...but those things will just have to wait for now.  SO thankful things are looking up.  :)

The HEART of the matter...

WHAT A WEEKEND. 

Please keep us in your prayers during this week-tomorrow especially!  My dad will be having open heart surgery for coronary artery bypass grafts.  He had some tests last week at his doctor back home, which didn't go so well, so he had a heart cath on Friday in Dothan.  Kerry called me at work, so I left early to be with my parents.  We rushed up there together to hear the news that he has some pretty major blockage and needs surgery.  I spent the weekend with them in Dothan at the hospital (Kerry had to work), and will be going back to Dothan tomorrow for the surgery.  Please remember us all, especially him, as he goes through this and recovers.  It's very much a surprise, and VERY scary for us all.

I'm trying to be more optimistic as a general rule, so it is good that there was no cardiac muscle damage to speak of yet, and the blockage is all we're dealing with, so they expect him to recover fully, and fairly quickly.  God is good.

I will keep you posted on results and outcomes.

Two down, Five to Go!

Another semester of CRNA school is behind us, and I'm happy to report, the pristine 4.0 is still intact!  I'm SO PROUD of Kerry!  He's working so hard for those grades, and he absolutely loves his clinicals.  I believe he's found a career he was meant for.   That leaves us with somewhere in the neighborhood of a year and a half to go.  Who knows where we'll end up after that!  Our current favorite thing is to dream though, and pretend...so we play house hunters online and pick out houses in different areas based on what we think we'll be able to afford.  We're so sick of renting it isn't even funny!

Not much else is different around here.  The weather's warming up and it's nice to live at the beach for a change with all the spring breakers and snow birds gone!  I have another neurologist appointment at the end of the month, so I'll let you know what goes on there.

And in case I don't see you, Happy Mother's Day!  :)