Day 1217 - Sep 29, 2011

Still not feeling so well so I am going to skip both tonight and I might as well tomorrow night too since the garage sale is the next day. Truthfully, I'll be amazed if I can get this all done by then as all I am doing is sleeping.

Day 1216 - Sep 28, 2011

I am going to skip tonight as I still just don't feel well.

Day 1215 - Sep 27, 2011

Out little guy came through his surgery with flying colors! Breezy called me at about 8:30 this morning and said they were already on their way home. He did fantastic! YAY!

Kev is doing well. He downloaded some new game on his iPad yesterday and he's quite addicted. He played ALL NIGHT LONG last night and I had to force him to put it away for dinner tonight.

And now I am heading to bed. I started getting congested last night and I am just all stuffed up tonight. I want to just get some sleep and see if it works itself out of my system overnight. Man, I hope so! I have too much to get done this week...

Day 1214 - Sept 26, 2011

Today I just spent the day organizing and unpacking. We had a few folks come today too to set things up (the ramp guy, the lights/fan remote guy, the lawn care guy, etc). The community we now live in is having a town garage sale this Saturday and I am working my butt off trying to get the whole house unpacked by then so that I can sell the things we just don't need. I'm really not sure I can get it all done by the weekend, but I am determined to give it my best shot.

And our little guy Christian has his surgery tomorrow morning. I sure hope the tubes in his ears work and makes him all better. It's hard though for me not to be at the hospital with Breezy tomorrow because I know how scary it is, but it would just be too difficult to get Kevin moving that early. I think they have to be at the hospital by 6:30. It's those kind of days that Kevin gets overstimulated and it's painful to see him like that, so we are staying home by the phone.

Anyway, please keep our baby in your thoughts tomorrow. Thanks!

Day 1213 - Sep 25, 2011

We had a pretty good day today. Kevin and I went to Walmart as I hadn't made it there yet to get all the necessities after being gone so long (milk, bread, etc).

After that we came home and Breezy and family came over. Chris made a huge pot of chili and I made some loaded baked potatoes and we all ate out on the patio for dinner. It was really tasty.

That's pretty much it tonight. I'm kinda tired so I think I'll go to bed early. Kev's sitting here next to me though wide awake so I doubt he'll let me sleep, lol. He's sure laughing at me cause I keep nodding off while writing this...

Day 1212 - Sep 24, 2011

We pretty much hung around the house today. I continued to unpack and Kevin just watched movies all day. Breezy, Chris and the baby came over for most of the day too and while unpacking Breezy found a bunch of home movies on video tape. We took a nice, long break and watched a few. Aunt Mona - I wish there was a way to show you the videos. The one reminded me of how we always thought Elizabeth and Breezy shared a brain, lol.

Such fun seeing the kids when they were real little. I think Kevin was maybe 2 and Breezy was maybe 6.

Anyway, that's all for today so I will sign off now.

Day 1211 - Sep 23, 2011

So obviously we made it home yesterday. Our flight was delayed for quite a lengthy amount of time, but Kevin handled it really well. We just snacked and shopped at the little store at the airport.

When we got home, Johnnie was already here and had the bulk of the truck unloaded. He had called some of his family to get the job done and I can't tell you how much I appreciated that!

We worked hard for hours trying to get some of the furniture in place and we got a bunch of the boxes unpacked as well. We still have a LONG way to go, but we'll do it.

Since we don't really have any food here, we then all went to a little pizza place down the road where you sit outside and there is live music. It was a really fun time, with some new friends.

And then we came home and I worked for hours at my business until I crawled into bed. Kevin slept exceedingly well last night - he even commented on it this morning. I think he missed his own bed (And I don't blame him. His mattress is the most comfortable I have ever felt!).

Today we didn't really do much except continue to unpack. I obviously was on the phone a good bit after not being on it much for the last week or so, which was kinda a drag. I can't tell you how wonderful it was to not hear my phone ring one time for a whole 6 days! (I never turned it on).

But we are getting things scheduled that needed to be so it's a necessary evil. LOL.

And now it's off to an early night for me. It was REALLY late last night and I am whooped.

Day 1210 - Sep 22, 2011

I was already in bed and heard my email ding notification and it reminded me that I hadn't written the blog yet! At this point, I am just going to skip and get back to bed. I'll catch y'all up tomorrow!

Day 1209 - Sep 21, 2011

Kevin and I went and visited JT (a wounded marine) and his mom, Chris, today. It was so great seeing them again and JT is just doing so well!

After visiting with them, we came back and the whole family went out to dinner tonight. I took some pics, but stupidly I packed the camera before snagging them so it will have to wait a couple of days.

And our poor baby is really sick again. He is supposed to go have tubes put in his ears on Tuesday, but he's been running a fever for days and they won't do it if he still is by then. Please send all the vibes you can his way so we can get him feeling well enough to go through with the procedure. He has just had a constant ear infection (or two) for months now.

That's pretty much it for today, so I guess I'll call it quits for the night.

Day 1208 - Sep 20, 2011

Well...we had a great vacation! Honestly, the food was horrible, there was way too much seaweed and the service wasn't up to par either, but we still had a great time! Oh and I forgot to mention that after we paid for the hotel, neither mine nor Moe's credit cards would work down there. It's kinda funny now (because we saved so much money, lol), but it was a little worrisome trying to come home with just the cash we had on hand.

But still...like I said...it was super wonderful just sleeping on the beach. Heck, I probably slept more the past week that I did all last year, lol. Honestly, the first night I was snoring by 8:30 and slept for 13 hours! Heaven!

So here are a bunch of pics:




We went snorkeling and then we went swimming with the sharks!







And after we ate our meal and had our drinks is when we were informed our credit cards wouldn't work. Yikes! We had to scrounge money in our purses to pay for our meals, lol.






It really was a good time! I don't think I'll ever go back there, but it was still fun!

And from what I gathered - Kevin won $150 playing poker at the casino this week (so he splurged and bought himself a cigar - which promptly made him sick) and other than that he didn't really do too much. The kids went running around though and I'm glad.

And today we loaded up a huge truck with all our things and Johnnie and Ness will be driving it back to TX. They are leaving in the morning and Kevin and I will be going home on Thursday.

It's been a good vacation - for all of us. I'm glad to see the family, but it will be nice to go home too and finally get everything unpacked and maybe start to live like normal folks...

PS - I read on FB that Joel came through his surgery (I believe it was a 20 hour surgery), but that the next 72 hours were the most critical. They took him off the vent though and he is squeezing hands so I feel confident he will do great! Love you, Joel!

Day 1201 - Sep 13, 2011

It turns out that my mom has a UTI and she is already feeling just a little bit better. Once she gets another day or so of meds in her she should feel close to being well.

We did get some company today; Janet and her daughter, Cammie, came for a visit. We met Janet at BAMC way back in the beginning as her son, Matt, was wounded shortly after Kevin was. They are from this area and we have yet to get together every time we come here to visit. Here is a pic of all of us:



Janet - it was wonderful to see you today and dang! were those cookies great!!

After that Kev and I ran to the airport and picked up Moe who made it in safe and sound today. Tomorrow morning, unbelievably, her and I are going away for 6 whole days to the Dominican Republic! We got a fantastic deal on an all-inclusive and decided to really splurge and get away. (and yes, I am having just a few panic attacks now that it's time to go)

So, Kevin will be staying here in FL with my folks and Johnnie and his girlfriend, Ness are coming on Thursday to 'take care' of Kevin as well. Love him that I do, Kevin is still quite a bit of work and I worried that my parents couldn't handle it all. I'm glad that I have J & N coming now that my mom is sick, for sure.

And...I have decided to not write the blog while I am away. From what I am gathering, the internet connections are spotty at best so I think I will just take this time, be completely unplugged, and lie on the beach and drink pina coladas. I sure hope there's some hot guy waiting on me hand and foot...

I'll be back next Tuesday night!!

Not sure...

I am sitting here at the hospital with my mom as she is pretty sick. We are hoping it's just kidney stones and nothing major.

I am going to skip tonight and I will be back tomorrow night. Moe Is coming in tomorrow afternoon and then her and I are going on a real vacation Wednesday for 6 whole days!!! I will fill y'all in tomorrow night!

Day 1199 - Sep 11, 2011

On the 10th anniversary of the attacks on Sept 11, I would like to thank all those in the past and present military. I salute you!

We didn't really do much again today although Christian did get his haircut! I don't have much to say so I am just going to share some photos.

Day 1198 - Sep 10, 2011

We had some wonderful visitors today; Maritza, Jose and Joel all came over to visit for a couple of hours! I didn't take one photo, but boy was it great to see them!!

They all look fantastic and I honestly couldn't believe how fabulous Joel looks! He is heading to Bethesda next week for a 20 hour surgery so please keep them all in your thoughts too!

Other than this, we pretty much just lay around the house today. We swam and we ate and we swam some more, lol.

A good day, all in all.

Day 1197 - Sep 9, 2011

We kinda had a lazy day today. We got up and Christian and I went swimming. That boy is a natural - you should see him try to swim, lol! He LOVES it!

After that we all putzed around and then we loaded up and went to Walmart. Kevin just had to buy the new X-Men movie that was released today and mentioned it as soon as he woke up this morning.

We also played some cards tonight. My family is real big on playing cards every night, lol. We are all pretty competitive too so it gets a bit rowdy here sometimes.

That's pretty much it for today, but I did want to answer a question that came through - someone asked if Kevin remembered Jeremy and sadly, no, he did not. It's strange really, as he mostly remembers things like that.

And to end, here is a video of Christian eating his first piece of pizza. My did he love it! LOL! (and excuse all of us talking in the background)

Day 1196 - Sep 8, 2011

First I want to send a great big shout out to Southwest Airlines for taking such great care of Kevin! They had everyone stay in their seats until Kevin got off first and had the whole plane cheering for Kev - thank you Southwest! It was so much easier getting Kevin and Breezy and the baby off without being jostled around and pushed and bumped.

So obviously we made it to Florida! It was a great trip and even Christian was an excellent flier (sp). He slept in my arms the whole way up and the whole way down, only waking up and eating somewhere over the gulf.

So back to last weekend. On Saturday night we got company! Jeremy (Major Reigel) and his wonderful wife Dana came to visit - Jeremy was with Kevin in Afghanistan and he hasn't seen him since Kevin was still in a coma! What a difference, eh? We really had a fantastic night with them! We went to a BBQ place called Rudy's that's pretty close to the house and then we came back and played Kinect for a bit and just hung out together. We honestly had a great time and I hope they come back soon!! Here are a few photos:





(notice I am now a redhead, lol)

And then on Sunday we saw Anne (another member of the Herd) that came down for lunch from Houston. We met her and her friend Theo who is also in the Army and will be stationed here at Ft Sam. We had so much fun with these two as well!! I think we all played off each other very well and lunch was quite hilarious! Here is a photo of the kids:



It was a really great weekend all in all - until Kev's ears started hurting again. He has done really well today though and had no issues flying. Thankfully!

Day 1195 - Sep 7, 2011

I have no choice but to bail on you guys again. The internet is not working barely at all. We had a large wildfire in the area earlier today and it's caused intermittent service issues. Actually, I'm not even sure if it's been put out as I haven't had time to watch tv all evening.

So I guess I will share the pics tomorrow! We are heading to Florida in the morning so it will be late (like always, lol).

Day 1194 - Sep 6, 2011

It's been a very long day. Kevin had extreme pain again last night in his ear and his head. When he woke up this morning he had crazy shivers and was very nauseous. I called the neurosurgeon and we ran over to BAMC and ended up being there all day.

Kev got blood work done and a CT Scan with Contrast. The doc told us that everything looks good, but just in case they gave us another antibiotic.

I was so so worried!

So I keep falling asleep while writing this so I am going to sign off and continue tomorrow night. We had some company this week and I want to share pics with you guys.

Day 1190 - Sep 2, 2011

Kevin is feeling much better each and every day. I feel confident that this will all just go away.

I have decided to take the weekend off from the blog. I have to work tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday so I will be pretty busy with that.

I will be back on Tuesday night.

Happy Labor Day everyone!!

Day 1189 - Sep 1, 2011

I did talk to the neurosurgeon today and an ear infection could be a potential problem if left go long enough. Because Kevin doesn't feel pain or typically show any signs of an infection early on, who can really say how long it's been. The doc is on call this weekend so we are just going to wait and see.

One good thing is that Kevin's pain level is already decreasing so I am thinking it's getting better. Man, I hope so. The thought of having to remove that plate scares the heck outta me!

Day 1188 - Aug 31, 2011

Kevin's ear started hurting last night and I wondered if he might have an ear infection. I called his primary doc this morning to get an appointment and it turns out there aren't any appts available until October. I then called the polytrauma doc that we usually see and she couldn't get him in until Friday. That left either the ER or a walk-in clinic. We opted for the clinic.

It turns out his ear is infected and it's been (and still is) a real struggle to maintain pain control. He is really hurting.

One impressive thing that did happen though is that his primary doc from the VA satellite office called late tonight to see if we were able to get an appointment somewhere else. She expressed concern about it being the ear next to his plate that's in his head and got me all worried. I intend to call the neurosurgeon in the morning and see what he has to say. Maybe it's something I don't have to give another thought to but just having any sort of infection is alarming to me. The last thing we need is to have to have that plate removed!

And speaking of surgeries, our little man Christian is going to be getting tubes in his ears at the end of September. He has just had constant ear infections and they can't figure out what's been going on. They did run all kinds of tests thinking it might be something serious (cystic fibrosis, etc) and they just don't know so the ENT doc wants to put the tubes in as a 'maybe it will work' plan. Poor baby.

And now I am off to bed. It was a long night with Kevin last night and I'm kinda tired.