I firmly believe, without a doubt, that God is up to something in the life of my family. I don’t know exactly what it is yet, but He definitely has our attention! And I’ve said before, even with all that has gone on, from the fire to the accident, I have a strange sense of peace. Peace that can only come from above.

Thank you God, for answered prayers. Thank you for not allowing us to settle for mediocrity. Thank you for challenging this family to be stronger together and more dependent on You. You have allowed these hard times to draw us closer to You, and we know You are walking right beside us. We love You and will continue to praise You through the storm. You alone, are God! Amen

Can I get a Woo-Hoo???

Five days is certainly a long time to hang out in a sterile hospital room. Sponge baths and cafeteria food get old after about 36 hours! Maybe less, depending on whose giving the sponge bath. At least that’s my patients’ theory!

Jeremy started preparing for the trip home Wednesday night, by lowering his leg little by little throughout the day. By the time we left he was able to use crutches to get himself to the bathroom…which was HUGE progress…and it made me very happy that that was a job I didn’t have to try to do alone!

We met my parents for dinner and grabbed the kids, which they had wonderfully kept at their house all week (yes, they are saints…you’ve heard of St. Simons, right?). My dad took Jeremy back to the house while my mom and I headed to the pharmacy to fill more prescriptions in one night than I’ve ever filled my entire life!

So today starts our first day home and the kids are eager to help in any way they can. Changing bandages, getting medicine bottles, grabbing the crutches and cold drinks. The house is busy, but quiet. Which is good. Because I’m just trying to keep my head above water.

Jeremy began having severe pain in his ankle Saturday afternoon but was determined to see Eden get married. I told him I’d take him to the ceremony, but as soon as the bride kissed the groom, we were going back to the ER. We left the kids at the reception with Papa and took off to the nearest hospital to find out why, after limping on it for 5 days, he suddenly couldn’t move it or touch it without intense pain.

The doctor gave us many reasons for why he thought this would happen, but there weren’t a lot of definite answers. The one thing he knew for sure is that Jeremy needed more serious antibiotics than what he had been taking at home, so he admitted him in the early hours of Sunday morning.

They put him on an IV drip of antibiotics and did a CT scan of his leg. There were no doctors there until today so we hung out in his hospital bed and watched stupid movies on the comedy channel together. It was actually quite enjoyable.

The doctor came in this morning and looked at the scan. He saw something that concerned him and so he called in a surgeon for a 2nd opinion. Turns out the spot in question was just severe bruising and nothing that needed to be removed. (Thank goodness!)

At that point we got the okay to be discharged after his last dose of antibiotics around 3 pm. It was lunch time so I asked the nurse if I could take him for a walk outside in a wheelchair while we waited. She said, “Sure” and the 2 of us tried to get him comfortable.

But as soon as his leg was lowered below his heart, the pain was intolerable. He sat in the chair 10 minutes thinking it would get better. It never did. By the time we got him back in bed, he was exhausted. I stood there staring at him with tears in my eyes. “How am I going to get you home and in bed? It’s a 45 minute drive. That was only 10 minutes and it was awful. What are we going to do?”

The nurse called the doctor back in and told him what happened. He poked around Jeremy’s ankle some more and agreed that he should stay. The only problem was, the hospital where we were, was not contracted with our insurance company and if he stayed there, we would be paying 100% of the costs.

So we had to move to another hospital right across town. The doctor here told us the best guess as to what is causing the pain is something called Compartment Syndrome, being made worse by the infection. He told us to plan on being her at least 2 more days.

We were supposed to leave yesterday for Orlando for a much needed vacation, but it looks like I’ll be spending my week bed-side instead of pool-side. Eating cafeteria food instead of seafood. Freezing my hiney off in this 60 degree icebox instead of tanning my skin in a beach chair.

But don’t worry. I’m not bitter.

Monday afternoon Jeremy took Emery to play a round of golf. I took Savannah to get a pedicure before our upcoming vacation to Orlando. After getting our toes painted pretty, we went to get a bite to eat. As we were getting in the car to head back home I got a text from the golf course that Jeremy was in an accident and being taken to the hospital by ambulance.

When I finally saw him in the emergency room, I couldn’t believe my eyes! His left leg was completely mutiliated. There was a hole, I’m not kidding, at his shin and I could see all the way down into his leg. It was probably 3 inches long and a half an inch wide. A little further down, on the inside of his calf, there was another smaller hole and 3 or 4 deep slices right down into the muscle. The rest of his leg from the knee down was void of skin.

Kinda gross in details, I know, but all I kept hearing is that he was in a golf cart accident. How does that happen in golf cart for cryin’ out loud?????

Turns out, as my 2 boys finished up one hole and got in the cart to go to the next one, the gas pedal stuck full throttle. The wheel just happened to be turned all the way to the left, so the cart went full speed ahead toward a stone landscaping wall. Instinctively Jeremy put his foot out to brace the impact of the crash, but when he did, his foot got stuck between the wall and the golf cart. When the cart hit the wall, it broke the axel and so he could not turn the wheel back to the right, nor could he release the gas pedal. So the cart continued moving, twisting and dragging his leg the entire length of the wall.

Ouchy Momma!!!!

Once the cart finally released him, his first thought was that he lost his leg. He started calling to other golfers for help and when one couple got to him, the woman started screaming which made him look down and notice that indeed his leg was still there, but he had severed an artery near the calf and blood was spewing each time his heart pumped.

The couple helped him wrap his leg to try to stop the bleeding and also took Emery up to the clubhouse to call 911. The ambulance took him to the ER where Savannah and I were waiting. I will never forget the look on my little boy’s face when he came into the waiting room clutching the towel covered in his Daddy’s blood. I didn’t know if he was going to smile or burst into tears. I think he wanted to do the latter, but held it together and gave me the biggest hug ever.

I’m talking about Jeremy and his career change. So long to headaches from employees, subcontractors, and homeowners! Hello fishy fishy…

Jeremy was a tournament fisherman when we met. As a matter of fact, on our first “official” date he took me out on Lake Oconee and handed me a fishing pole. If it was a test, I’d say I passed with flying colors. In his toast at our wedding reception, he recalls that our first date was on the pond and he never left my side from that moment on. I remember him saying that made our wedding night our 2nd date.

He’s so silly.

In these past 10 years with him, fishing has been a part of our family. I’ve fished Guys & Dolls tournaments with him (not that I’m any help. I’m just sayin’…), and now that the kids are older, they enjoy catching fish at Papa’s or riding in the boat on the big lakes.

After closing our homebuilding company last year, Jeremy decided he’d like to pursue his dream of becoming a Pro-Angler. I was completely on board from the very beginning because there aren’t many things in this life that put a twinkle in my hubby’s eye like the possibility of a day of catch and release.

So he spent last year qualifiying to fish with the big dogs and also finding out as much as he could about sponsorships and ways to save money while living on the road. Can I just stop right here and say how proud I am that he got into every major tournament series he applied for in 2010? That is so awesome!!!

I’m also excited about doing a bit of traveling myself. The pictures I’ve posted above are all from a tournament he fished last October on Lake Seminole. The homeschooling gig works out great because we can go to just about any place with him, for as long as we like. I teach while he fishes, and about the time we finish up for the day, he’s getting off the water to weigh in. I also think it’s fun to take the kids on fieldtrips to places we wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to go. On one trip last fall, we were in Alabama and I had time to kill between his weigh-in and our hotel check out. So I thumbed through the local attraction pamphlets and found out there was a kids science museum about 30 minutes away. It was perfect!

I love finding stuff like that!

Today kicks off the 2010 fishing year. Sure, things will be a lot different in the upcoming months. But different is good. For us…it’s REAL good! (Good luck Babe!!! We’re all at home pulling for ya!!!!)

~I’m thankful I took a job working for your dad, even though I took a pay cut to do it

~I’m thankful you fired a guy on your crew, even if you were afraid he was going to come and steal your check before you could get to the office and pick it up

~I’m thankful for flirtatious phone calls in which you offered to buy me dinner if I would bring you the check

~I’m thankful you didn’t have plans the rest of that night or the wee hours of the morning as we sat and talked in the parking lot of my apartment building

~I’m thankful for quick engagments and rainy outdoor weddings

~I’m thankful for surprise pregnancies

~I’m thankful we’re in this together because I could never do it on my own

But mostly, I’m thankful for YOU! Happy Anniversary!!!

Another reason could be the book I’ve been anxious to read. It’s called the Daily Bible and it is broken out into segments that allow you to read the bible in a year. But that’s not all! It’s chronological. Meaning, it’s not your average Genesis through Revelation bible. It groups stories, letters, prophecies, etc together for a smoother flow. And hopefully for me, a better understanding.

After having a little quiet time in Savannah’s room (long story there), Emery climbed into bed with me for some snugglin’. Then he and I headed downstairs to walk on the treadmill. Yes…together. His little legs wouldn’t allow me to go faster than a 2, but considering I was still wearing my robe and pajama bottoms I think it’s safe to say I wasn’t dressed for a tremendous fat burning workout.

After a quick shower the kids and I got ready to go watch Daddy play flag football with some guys from our Sunday School class. With all the smack talk that goes on before one of these events you’d think a Superbowl ring was riding on it.

That is my hubby, the QB, being chased by our Sunday School teacher, Kyle. And although there were no heisman’s awarded after today’s game, I think all the wives would agree they are winners in our book. After all, this was the second game in a row where no one went home injured or had to be taken to the ER.

Next thing you know, the sky lights up and angels begin telling us that a Savior has been born. They direct us to a nearby stable where we find a sweet young couple and a new baby, surrounded by even more animals. Then, before our journey ends, we meet up with 3 wise men who are looking for the same baby and we are able to tell them what we saw.

It’s a really fun way to tell the story of the birth of Jesus and it’s something our family looks forward to every year. For me, I like taking the kids through and watching how they pick up on something new. But for Jeremy, he’s the performer in the family. He has settled into his role as one of the wise men and loves it. Even in 30 degree weather until 10:00 at night!!!

(Thanks Michele, for the picture. I never think to take my camera!)

On the way there, we didn’t notice any reguar unleaded fuel. Super unleaded. Mega unleaded. Or anything, whatever the names are. There were a few with diesel though. I made a comment that maybe we should start driving the truck again. We quit when diesel prices shot through the roof. Now they are all about the same.

When we left to come home, we passed 2 gas stations that DID have fuel. WOW! I suggested we stop and fill up. He said, “I’m not paying $4.06 for gas. That’s just ridulous.”

Today my husband went to a meeting in Atlanta in the same vehicle we drove last night. A few minutes ago I received a frantic phone call. “Hey, I’m almost out of gas. Call AAA and see if they can tell me the nearest gas station with gas!!!”

“Where are you?”

“___________ (long way from home).”

I was struggling not to say I told ya so, but I DID tell him so! Why doesn’t he listen? I certain hope he doesn’t expect me to BRING him gas. For one thing, he has the car seats so in essence I’d have to hire a babysitter to leave. Not to mention, I don’t know where to buy gas either! And second, the Bulldogs kick off in 20 minutes and I’m in the middle of fixing some incredible hot wings.

I wonder how much he’d pay for a gallon of gas now???

Turns out, they were welcomed with arms wide open. They stayed around the city of Biloxi, MS for a few days and when the supplies ran out, they came back home. Jeremy would make one more trip to that area before deciding he just couldn’t go back. The smells and sights were too much. He couldn’t sleep at night. But he still felt he had to use his resources to make a difference.

That’s when The Wooden Cross Ministries was born. Family and friends pitched in and we managed to find donated office space in our small town that we turned into a shelter. People came from all around to drop off clothes, food, medical supplies, etc. It was surprising how many Katrina refugees we had in north east Georgia. They came to us, not only looking to have their needs met, but also for hope and a place where they felt at “home”.

Since that time we’ve used TWC Ministries to provide scholarships to local high school students, supported Vacation Bible school, built children’s facilities, and given over 100 children in our community a fabulous Christmas.

Now we are trying something new. Our church is drawing up plans to build a Ministry Village. The first structure going up is the Hope House whose main focus will be families. Couseling, budgeting, foster care, as well as a child advocacy center, of which there is none on our side of Atlanta.

Jeremy and I have prayed about how we can help raise money for this wonderful idea that will reach thousands of people in our area. And we have decided to raffle off our ‘67 Shelby Mustang, giving all the proceeds to the Ministry Village.

Most of our weekends this spring were spent at car shows selling tickets. This summer we’ve gotten away from it but we have plans to begin again really soon. A few weeks ago we set up our website with a paypal button that allows us to sell tickets online. They are only $25 so if you’d like a chance to win, just go directly to TWC Ministries and click on the “purchase tickets” button at the top.

I realize some of you bloggers out there also live in this community, so I supplied the code in my left sidebar for promoting this cause on your own blog if you’d like. Just copy and paste it wherever you want. And I thank you in advance for your support! :)