More info on my Dad

He went and saw the gastroenterologist today and he has scheduled him for a test sometime in mid February. He told my mom that he thinks my Dad has had another stroke but what do we know?! He is greatly concerned about the aspirating and the weight loss and depending on the results of his test and if he continues to drop weight, at that time he will have to decide if he wants a feeding tube put in. He is NOT happy about that prospect. However, he has a week or so to think about it. Not sure what will happen. Will keep you posted. Meanwhile he continues to stuggle with swallowing, coughing and choking each meal or drink. Lets hope he doesn't get pneumonia.

James might work for fed ex

I am taking James and another young man from our ward over to apply at fed ex this afternoon. They are hiring at $13.00 an hour which certainly beats Subway. They would be loading the packages into the fed ex trucks. We will seeeeeeee.

Update on my Father

He saw the neurologist today and he basically told them that its not his (the neurologists problem). He has referred him to a gastroenterologist tomorrow. He has a few main symptoms, slurred speech, confusion and this swallow thing which all showed up over one weekend. My mom and I both believe that he must have had another stroke then. But the neurologist won't do a cat scan much less an MRI to see. He just dismissed them and referred him to the gastro guy. They see him tomorrow at 1:30. Dad has lost 20 pounds since Nov 30th. Its frustrating. The fact is that medicine today is set up to deal with "emergencies". A primary care giver is not given any kind of incentive to prevent things...such as managing diabetes. But medicare will spend thousands to amputate when someones diabetes isn't managed and they then have to lose their leg. I just don't get it.

I will let you know how the visit goes tomorrow.

Tracy, is there any new information on how your Father is doing?

Edit your Profiles peeps

Hey everyone, edit your profile by clicking on your name on the right side of the web page so we can see who everyone is. Click on my name for a chuckle.

Where is Martissa ?

Does Martissa have the internet? If so, is she going to join all of us? I hope so. She is the only one missing.

I ran 10 miles today without stopping!!

Can you believe it? I think back to when I started all of this and how hard it was to walk a mile much less run one. My times have improved too. Last Saturday I ran a 10k race (6.2 miles) and ran that at an 11:20 min pace. Today, the set pace was 13 min miles as it was a long and should be slower than my race pace. Next race is a half marathon in Agoura in March. Woo hooooo. Shelley, how are things coming with Joley? Is she cooperating yet? Have you been able to get out to run or back to the gym yet? I hope so, I know how much you want too. Talk to us Shelley. What is happening at your house?

Nathan Update

We are still working on getting Nathan signed up with Medi-cal to help with his hearing aids.... slower than slow process. In the meantime, Nathan has 3 new friends. Three ladies, a speech therapist, a developmental therapist, and an occupational therapist, all wanting an excuse to play on the floor with a cute baby have adopted him. Their services are provided through the school district. The speech therapist will work with him until he is 3 and will begin most of her work once he has his hearing aids. The other two just did an initial assessment on him to see if he had any developmental delays due to his hearing loss and the concerns of the doctors while I was pregnant. So far their only complaint is that he doesn't hold his head up very well. They recommend more tummy time to help strengthen his neck. Well, we put him on his tummy, position his arms, have every hope that he will practice pushing up, and he tucks his arms into his body, sucks his hand, and falls asleep. Our theme song for him is... I don't want to grow up, I like being a baby. Oh well. To go with mom's saying...I am sure he will be holding his head up before he goes to kindergarten :):):)

Dad's Joke

Blonde Joke: The blonde loved to ride a horse. She went out and mounted up and was traveling along, waving her head and her hair was blowing in the wind and she was having the time of her life. She held the reins tightly in her hand and everything was going just fine. All of the sudden she slipped and her foot caught in the stirrup and held her tight and she went bouncing along the ground. Her head kept bouncing, boing boing, and her hair went flying through the dirt. She pulled hard on the reins trying to get the horse to stop but he kept going. She tried to pull herself up and get back mounted but she couldn't get up because the horse was going so fast and her head was bouncing on the ground. At this point things looked pretty bad. Just then the walmart manager came out of the building and ran over and unplugged the horse. HAHA!

Tricky Paisley

We thought that since Nathan can do tricks we would show you Paisley's tricks! She can play remote possibilities...
AND eat cupcakes with a fork! Tricky Paisley. She must be advanced!

Grandma Snuggle Time

Isn't this so cute! Grandma can't get enough snuggle time with Paisley!

From the Palm

I am writing this from Jasons palm.
This is so cool. I need to thank who
evers wifi this is.

Prayers requested for my Father

My parents will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary tomorrow. For well over a year we have planned to give them a party to honor them. Mom wanted it in the spring instead of now, due to family traveling and it being winter. So, as of now, we are all supposed to be going to Pennsylvania in April for the party on April 8th.

The new news is that Dad seems to have had another stroke howbeit a small one. It has effected his ability to swallow. His speech has also been impacted but if he speaks slowly he can be understood. The swallow issue is a BIG problem as he is aspirating each time he eats or drinks. The doctor is seriously concerned about him choking to death or developing pneumonia at any time. They have pushed to get him into a neurologist on Monday to determine if the throat can be treated with rehabilitation or nerve stimulation. In the mean time, my brother Jim is taking them out to dinner tomorrow and my sister Sharon is making dinner for them on Sunday. My mom would be happy if she could get him to eat baby food between now and Monday but that won't happen.

I have felt for some time that his time is nearing. I feel it. I know it in my soul. I take every opportunity I can to speak with him and tell him how I feel about him. There is a part of me that wants to cling to him and tell him he can't die. Yet there is another part of me (the less selfish side) who knows what my Dad has survived in his lifetime and knows that he has earned a long over due rest.

I would appreciate your prayers and if someone could put his name in at the temple that would be helpful. His full name is Nevin James Miller Jr..

Update on James Mission call.....the saga continues

We received a call from the missionary department in SLC today to check on Jame's "issues". They went over his heart condition and his needing orthotics with Lewis and at the end of the call seemed satisfied that all was in order. I guess a doctors signature and a stake president's recommendation isn't enough...they really have RAISED the bar. Anyway, so if you guessed his call was coming anytime soon, you (including me) were wrong. Probably nothing will happen before next week now. SIGH. Can you tell how impatient the mom is?????!!!!!

Technology

Well Mom and Dad have left the stone age and welcomed in the 00's (that's how I say the 2000's ya know like the 90's) Anyway, last night we become DSL users here in Palmdale and this is definitely the best thing since sliced bread! Its incredible. I talk on the phone and blog at the same time, we upload pictures in seconds (that's why there is a sudden increase in activity from this house) I LOVE DSL! I don't know how we ever survived with dialup. So congratulate mom and dad next time you see them!

Another Graduate

Well it's offical, Jason graduated! He finally recieved his diploma so I guess he gets to keep his job at L-3!

This is for those of you who need a closer look! Yup, it says Jason Spencer Cornwall! We are so proud!

Wow Nathan can already hold his own bottle, with one hand even. And what a cute grin.

STEF...HELP ME

How do I make it so Derrick and I don't have to sign our name when we type something. We need different headings for who is saying what or something.

Cute Family

OK we'll set the example for everyone else to follow. We need more pitures on this blog!

Challenge for the family......

Ok, here it is. Shelley and myself are going to do the Bryce Half Marathon on Saturday, July 15th. Unless Shelley is sandbagging me (she could run circles around me before Joley) we should be shooting for about a 2:15 to a 2:30 finish. That translates into a 10 1/2 to a 11 1/2 min mile pace. Would anyone else be interested in doing it with us? Its 13.1 miles long and I can give you a training schedule if you want. I think it would be fun to have a bunch of us do one of these races. It could end up being something shorter, but what the heck, I am sure at least some of us could tackle the half. Let me know if you are interested, want more info, or would consider a shorter distance. Woo hoooooooooo!

Hey, I commented on James' driving test and it did't show up..... why is that????? I think this is still confusing for me. And, why does it have Shelley's name as a contributer, but I can't find anything written from her. Am I missing something? HELP.... Rebecca

James to retake driving test on Thurs

Well, he didn't pass. He was so nervous he made a big mistake (turned left on a red arrow). I think it was probably green when he looked at it the first time but it turned red and he didn't notice. The instructor/tester told him he did great except for that, but that was an "automatic fail" type of error. His driving has improved tremedously since he took his driver training road class. I hope he reads this and realizes how much we think he is capable and able to pass this. He just needs to relax and do what he has learned and practiced. If you think of it, remember him in your prayers on Thursday, his retest is at 2:30.

Welcome

Welcome to all the new whelchel bloggers. New to our blog over the past couple of days are Lewis, James, Lauryn, and Layne. P.S. Layne when you wrote something it was a comment, if you need to know how to post on the webpage for all to read I can help you with that. Happy posting!

Caitlin wrote this for an english paper.....

She read a book called "Marigolds". Its about a woman living during the depression who grows some marigolds. They are the only touch of beauty in an austere world. Someone becomes jealous and destroys them. Caitlin has to write her paper as if she were one of the "marigolds".

Here it is:


Marigolds… Caitlin Whelchel
Period 1
1/22/06
Days are so peaceful, as the life of the marigold. I swish and sway in the wind as the sun beats through my golden petals, casting rays of light on the moist soil beneath my roots. My family beside me moves and swishes with me, happy, together, standing out like crystals against a sea of rocks. Our caretaker, our master, our mother protects us, feeds us. Her old hands gently nurture our delicate golden petals, making us grow stronger, brighter, more outstanding. Mother makes us grow stronger and we can feel it! We can feel the loving power coursing through our veins, surging through our petals. How we adore her, our mother! Oh, the time she spends on growing us. So in return we do our duty. We dance with the wind, performing our masterful aerobics, catching the light and the heat and filling the atmosphere with our presence. We love to please our mother. But wait. Something is wrong. Our brother has been hurt. Creatures are out there. We can sense them. We can feel their vibrations as they stamp loudly on the ground, preparing to attack. We shift away from them as far as our stems allow us. Our petals shake with fear as another rock is shot into our bunch, beheading a dear cousin. Mother begins to shout. She wants to protect us, she does. Suddenly an attacker comes loose. It prances around my master, taunting her, jeering at her. Fury rakes through us. We hate it when our mother is wrongfully treated. More attackers leap out of their hiding place and they tease mother. We hate them! We hate the attackers that kill our brethren and hurt our mother! How dare they? The attackers flee when another large creature steps up. His vibrations are much louder, heavier. We are saved.

Thanks Stef!

I asked Stef to invite my kids to participate too. They are all finding invitations to join too. They parcipate in what is called "my space". They are masters at this stuff. I like Rebecca will muddle through.

Thanks for the tips for James on driving too.

We will announce his mission call and the results of his driving test Tues afternoon on here.

btw, last chance opportunity to guess
1) when he will recieve his call
2) where he is going
3) when he will report to the MTC

For those who are calory concious, I am sure we can reward you in a manner respecting your situation. Translate....guess, you have nothing to lose and NO calories to gain. hehe.

Love, Tracy

We now can have TITLES for our posts!!

I have just enabled the title option for our web page, now we can have catchy titles for all our posts! YAY!

This is confusing for me...hummm, not to worry, I am sure it is figure-out-able. Derrick was put in as second counselor in our Elder's quorum (there's no spell check on this thing, is there?) 2 weeks ago. One of the blessings of that calling was speaking in sacrament meeting today. He did a good job. Mialee decided to potty train herself last week. It is amazing the motivation of princess underwear. She refuses to poo in the toilet, so when it is time for that function, she asks for a diaper, does her doody, gets changed, then back to the underwear. She is very funny. Yesterday she told me to calm down and wait a second. Hum, maybe I say that too much to her??? :) Nathan is working his way up to 12 lbs. He loves for Mialee to play with him, though her roughness gives me a heartattack. He is full of smiles and the occasional laugh. The process for hearing aids is incredible slow and frustrating. This is why I prefer to not be on any state programs.... there's a lot of help out there, it is just not available to anyone. Go figure. Thank you for all of your support and encouragement through this ordeal. Good luck with the driving test James. Here's a tip: when you make a right turn, stay out of the bike lane. I got busted for that one on my test. Gotta run.... Rebecca Oh hey, I just found the spell check. Told you I would get the hang of this eventually. :)

Evening all. Great idea. Not sure whose idea it was....Jan's or Stef's. Regardless, I support it.

We DON'T have a mission call yet. Argh! Still waiting. But that is why this is a great idea. We can post it here and you will all know immediately! Keep James in your prayers on Tuesday too, he is taking his driving test......FINALLY. We can't wait to have another licensed driver in the house!

Going to bed, we celebrated Caitlin's 14th birthday today and I have been up since 4am. Night all.

Here is a picture of pretty pretty Paisley. We thought it would be cute to have her be the first picture on the blog since she is the cutest one in the family.

Welcome Whelchel's to our blog!! Mom really wanted us to start a family blog so I command all of you to participate. You all can post pictures of your family or anything else you think we will enjoy and make comments are other posts that your siblings have made. This is going to be a fun way for us all to keep in contact and watch everyone grow right before our very eyes. So happy posting!