Sat. 1st--Cooper traveled with some other choir students to the University of Texas (UT) in Austin for the State Solo and Ensemble choir competition. Cooper was fortunate enough to perform his solo (in Italian) and get it out of the way before his ensemble which was near the very end of the competition. Cooper called to tell us he earned a 1 SUPERIOR rating on his solo! We were so proud! This was his first time singing a solo at this competition. He told us his judge was the Director of Chorale at UT and Cooper's superior rating was the first one he'd given out up to that point. I guess Cooper broke him in a little because there were a few more superiors that followed. His ensemble however, tanked. Like it was baaaad. A 4 out of 5, 5 being the worst. Cooper said they didn't have much time to practice, which is unfortunate. The other unfortunate circumstance is that his school was supposed to report back to a certain place to get their medals. But when they did so, the judges were already gone! Since the school district was already out for the summer, we're hoping he'll get his medal in the fall.
*Jared sent our friend, Richard Scoresby, a text to put a bug in his ear. Jared is planning a canoe fishing trip in Canada next summer and if Cooper gets his Eagle project done, he'll get to go. But if not, Jared will need a back up to keep the group the same size and asked Richard if he was interested. Richard said his ears were buzzing and he was all in if there's a spot for him. Jared said he'd definitely let him know before the end of the year if they have a spot. Then this is how the conversation went:
Richard: Sounds great. So if I understand, I'm hoping for Cooper to not get his Eagle? (big smile emoji).
Jared: Unfortunately, that would be the case (eye-rolling emoji).
Richard: So what distractions are most effective? Should I send him video games?
Jared: That's brutal, but funny! ;)
Richard: Anything for fishing!
Jared: I have to agree with that.
Sun. 2nd--This was the first Sunday Jake was back in our ward after coming home. Everyone (and others from our previous CS3 ward) was so welcoming and supportive. When we went into Sunday School, a bit late because we got stopped by people on our way to class, there weren't many seats left. I saw three elders sitting in a row, with an empty seat on the aisle. I asked Jake if he wanted to sit with the missionaries and he said yes. So I went around to the other side of the room and noticed Jake hugging the guy sitting next to him. When we came into the chapel before Sacrament Meeting began, the elders from the other ward were on their way out. Looking at one of the elders, Jake commented, "I know that guy. We were in the same zone in the MTC." I thought he was hugging that elder. Turns out, that young man is Isaiah. He and Jake went to high school together and even had some of the same classes. He was dating a young woman in our ward for quite some time. They broke up, but he became very familiar with the Church and when he came back to town for the summer, decided to start meeting with the missionaries! And now, with Jake home, Isaiah had a friend who he could attend Elders Quorum with and talk to. I told Jake when he came home that I had a bunch of different "theories" on why he was here. The Savior is all about "the one." And if taking Jake out of Hungary to put him on a path that will directly help someone in the way that only Jake can is how the Lord does it, then so be it. Perhaps Isaiah is that one. Even though Isaiah is 19 and doesn't need his parents' permission to be baptized, he desires their support in his journey, but he doesn't have it. So Isaiah is pretty much alone and the Lord knows that.
*This was the one year anniversary that Jake went to the temple to receive his endowment. Also my mom's birthday! :) But this year, it was Cooper's special day--he received his Patriarchal blessing. From our church web site it explains, "
A patriarchal blessing has two main purposes. First, the patriarch will be inspired to declare your lineage—the tribe of Israel to which you belong. Second, guided by the spirit of prophecy, the patriarch will pronounce blessings and may also provide promises, cautions, or admonitions that apply specifically to you. Your patriarchal blessing may point out certain things you are capable of achieving and blessings you can receive if you exercise faith and live righteously." After his interview with our bishop and getting approval for this once-in-a-lifetime blessing, Cooper scheduled it about 6-8 weeks in advance. We thought it was pretty neat that Jake could be there, too.
Back in April, I was thinking about Cooper's upcoming blessing and how there were things I really, really wanted him to know that he didn't seem to be hearing or learning from me and Jared. So I petitioned the Lord...on several occasions, that He would counsel Cooper about those things in this blessing. During the blessing, as we reverently listened with our eyes closed and heads bowed, Jared and I (we later found out) sat there slack-jawed a couple times when Patriarch Kuttler spoke to Cooper on behalf of the Lord. Because he spoke those very things we had prayed for as his parents. It was absolutely astonishing and amazing all at the same time. We all wept and Patriarch Kuttler was emotional as well. It was a day we won't soon forget.
*Jake was blessed by a visit from Brady Hodges, who taught, with his wife Karen, the stake Sharing the Gospel class that Jake attended for his last two years of high school. When the Hodges got word Jake was coming home, they actually brought a plate of cookies over to see him a couple days later, but we were in Branson. We were so sad to miss them, especially since they were moving to Missouri when we got back. But Brady made sure to carve out some time Sunday night before they left Texas to come visit Jake (with Karen on FaceTime :) We are so grateful for their love and support of our returned missionary.
Mon 3rd--Jake and I were off to his first appointment at Jared's ENT office and Cooper was in charge of driving Karcyn to the church for Girls Camp. As Stake Young Women's President, I should have been with her. I sat in on all the planning meetings, but the Youth Camp Leaders and Camp Directors were really the ones overseeing it. So that helped make it easier for me to not be there. I was definitely bummed not to be going. But Jake needed me. And I was actually grateful Karcyn could be at camp without me around. I think she deserves that. Fortunately, Cooper did get Karcyn to the church at 8:45am when I asked him to because Jake and I needed to be at the ENT clinic at 8:30am.
We had an appointment with Dr. Wright. We like to refer to him lovingly as a redneck, cowboy rocker. ;) He wears cowboy boots with his scrubs and has a great drawl. He's very lively. But Jared came to see us first. Jared ordered the 14 vials of blood work that Jake had drawn the morning after he got home from Hungary. Jared was very concerned. I could see it in his eyes. He was trying to keep himself composed and calm. There was an autoimmune indicator that popped up. And the specific marker below it showed: scleroderma--which, in a broad sense, is a hardening of the skin, but it can also affect other soft tissue organs like the esophagus, kidneys, lungs, and heart. So Jared was justified in being deeply worried. My heart sank for about 10 seconds and then I pulled it back into it's place and decided I can't go there. Not until I absolutely have to and I hear the definitive diagnosis. Blood tests are helpful but don't always tell the full story.
Dr. Wright did his exam on Jake and said he wanted to scan him. I wasn't sure what he meant, but trusted him and Jared. He also said they would get us in to see a rheumatologist as soon as they could to address the blood work concerns. Even Dr. Wright said that maybe it popped up as a positive but Jake could be on the super mild end of a very large spectrum of people afflicted with scleroderma. Dr. Wright must have pulled some strings, because we were able to get an appointment to see the rheumatologist two days later! Then we were off to another part of the office to first fill out paperwork and pay for the CT scan, I later learned, of Jake's sinuses. Then we waited in the hall for....quite some time actually to do the scan. I guess the system wasn't up and running all the way.
While we were waiting, I got a call from Karole. She rarely calls. Especially in the morning. She said that she noticed two guys lurking around her house. One rang her doorbell a few times. The other walked through her back gate! She wondered if she should call the Sheriff. I was trying to process this. I asked her if they had any kind of uniform on, because people come check the water and gas meters...but just as quickly, I realized they don't ever ring your doorbell. That's when Karole said she saw them at the front door across the street and one that was climbing the fence. Without hesitation I told her, "YES! Call the Sheriff!" She texted me back to let me know that dispatch was sending a couple units over. She said it looked as if the guys were targeting houses that had no vehicles in the driveway. And a few minutes later she said the Sheriff's deputy had just driven by her house.
As Jake and I continued to wait for his scan, I noticed Jared at the nurse's station about 20 feet away. He was talking to one of the nurses and he looked a little grumpy--he's been trying to work on weight loss and had lost about 18 pounds and even lost weight while we were on vacation, but it's not coming off very fast and his limited menu gets old pretty quick. So when I saw the hallway was clear of any doctors, I caught his attention and teasingly asked, "Are you hangry?" Before Jared responded, the nurse said something to him and he smiled. He came over and said, "The nurse wanted to know if you were my wife or Jake's significant other." Haha! I think that was a compliment for me--I'm reeeeeeally hoping she thought Jake looked older than 19 and that I looked a lot younger and I wasn't one of those..."older" girlfriends.
A few minutes later, Jake got called back for the scan. And then I was called back to join him because Dr. Wright was going to talk to us about it. Jared came in with him and as soon as Dr. Wright sat down said, "Whoa, Dude." And proceeded to tell us that Jake has chronic sinusitis and has about 6-7 years of sludge built up under his eyes because his sinuses are, shall we say, structurally unsound. They don't drain. He will need surgery to fix that. But Dr. Wright said this specific course of action is at the bottom of the totem pole--something to do once we're done seeing all the specialists. He said that if we adults (without chronic issues) had the inflammation and infection that Jake has going in his head right now, we'd be in the ER begging doctors to cut off our faces. He said it's that bad. Which blows our minds, because when I think of sinus infections, I think of a cold that is 100x worse...headaches, foggy brain, sinus pressure, drippy nose, misery. Obviously, things can't drip because of Jake's structure. But he's never complained of sinus pressure or constant headaches/foggy brain, etc. I guess his nerves could all be shot and past feeling. Yikes. Dr. Wright also indicated that chronic sinusitis could definitely interfere with your quality of life...feeling tired and run down all the time and messing up sleep, which was very interesting considering our circumstances. Jake responded, "Great, so my nose got me sent home?"
Before we left, Jake got allergy tested to see if there was anything perpetuating his chronic sinus issues. We learned, officially, that he's allergic to cats and horses...things we already suspected. No adverse reactions to trees or grasses luckily.
While I was waiting for Jake, Karole texted to tell me the deputy came to her house. He asked her to identify the backpack they found as the two guys ran from them but who were eventually apprehended. The deputy told Karole that her description of the guys and the bag fit the men in custody. I told her she was a hero!! Wow! I knew she was a bit rattled, as I would be if I saw strange men walking through my back gate and into my yard. I asked her if she'd like Calvin or Cooper to come keep her company. She said that would be nice. Unfortunately, no one answered our home phone, so she never got through. :(
*I received some fun pictures of Karcyn at girls camp. I actually volunteered Karcyn to be the buddy of Shelby, a young woman with Down Syndrome, whose parents and sister wondered if she, although in her 20s, would be allowed to go to camp. As soon as the YW's president asked me if this was possible, I immediately thought of Karcyn and knew she would be a wonderful, compassionate friend for Shelby. The Stake Presidency whole-heartedly approved as well, so it was a done deal. I just felt bad that I was volunteering Karcyn for something that I wouldn't be there to help oversee. But the Camp directors and other leaders were aware and happy to step in and keep a watch out.
*Jake had blessedly received an invitation the night before to attend an appointment with the missionaries and teach some investigators. Jake invited Cooper along as well and the two boys had their "companion study" to prepare. Unfortunately, the lesson fell through when they arrived, but the preparation wasn't wasted. While they were out, Jake and Cooper decided to go bowling.
*Jake also worked on some family history with Cooper, to show him the ropes and Calvin watched closely.
*I was watching a Hallmark movie later that night and Jake and Cooper and Jared were in the room with me, though not necessarily watching it. They'd never admit to that. The main gal was with her boyfriend, eating dinner in his very prestigious home. The gal didn't know which of the seven utensils to start with. Cooper, who was quietly watching at that moment, spoke up and said to the TV, "Start on the outside!" We were super impressed and a bit surprised that he knew what to do so we asked Cooper how he became so well versed in the art of eating with such an expansive place setting--cause we all know it wasn't in our house! (I'm as casual as they come. My poor mom was a great example of lovely tables at every meal, too. She always had table cloths and place settings and the food in serving bowls or platters. The food I serve usually stays in the pans they were cooked in without table cloths and usually just a fork, napkin and plate and everyone is on their own for drinks. So she set a wonderful example, I just did not follow, I'm afraid.) Without missing a beat, Cooper replied to our question in one word, "Titanic!"
Wed. 5th--This is a picture of Jake at about 9:45am, after waking up, showering and trying to read his scriptures.
*Jake, Jared and I went to the rheumatologist appointment together at 11:30. We waited for quite a bit. About 30 minutes beyond our appointment time, but we were just so grateful to be squeezed in. The doctor came in and basically asked, why are you here? So we explained as succinctly as possible about Jake's last month and the blood tests we did here in Texas that showed the autoimmune markers. The doctor said he didn't like the lab where those were done, so he was going to reorder them in his lab. He asked a few more questions. We tried to fill in the necessary gaps. He looked at Jake's scalp and said, "He has psoriasis." He does? We just thought it was terrible dandruff. Jake, feeling extremely validated, said, "See?? I told you I washed my hair!" Doc asked how long he'd had it. We said maybe six or seven years...we thought it was just puberty. Haha. We actually got the doctor to smile. He chuckled and commented, "Yeah, puberty sucks." Because psoriasis is an autoimmune disesase, he told us that this is likely what lit up the autoimmune marker on his blood test. But he would redraw them just in case. He checked Jake over for pain, he checked his fingernails with gel and an otoscope--looking for signs of scleroderma, but couldn't find any. We did tell the doctor that we learned Jake has chronic sinusitis. That caught his attention, then adding to the little web of knowledge, explained to us that chronic sinusitis can actually
cause psoriasis. Fascinating. That really surprised Jared, too. He didn't think the ENT surgeons knew that. Jared also brought up the only major medical thing Jake had been through was when he was hospitalized two and a half years ago for collapsing at a cross country meet. He asked if the hospital did a pulmonary function test on him. They did a LOT of tests on Jake, but I think they were all cardiac related, so we said no. The doctor wanted to refer us to a pulmonologist to get that done and also ordered a special two hour blood test to check his cortisol levels. There were some immunoglobulin levels that were a bit low that the doctor couldn't account for, so he'd be testing those again, too. The guy is thorough if nothing else. We were to come back in three weeks.
Jared headed back to work, while we waited for the referrals. Which proved to be very tricky because of our insurance. This doctor is in network but doesn't work at the hospital so we have to pay about 30% of the charged amount. That made me a bit concerned about the additional blood work he'd be doing at his lab, not ours. Fortunately, the doctor told me they would just do it at cost since we had already paid to get it done ($4220 charged to insurance as a matter of fact) and I was so relieved. The office was not able to get the special blood test or pulmonologist referrals done before we headed out to go to the lab. So they gave us the names of the people to call after a week to check back.
*I got some more camp pictures of Karcyn doing a craft with my counselor, Allison Dunn.
*Jake was invited to attend Institute with his friend, Jared Garlick, later that night, who just got home from his mission to Norway the day before Jake did and they had a great time. When Jake got home, he and Cooper wanted me to watch the scary movie "Lights Out" with them. Jared will not watch anything in this genre. So he went to bed. He's on-call Wed/Thurs so he goes to bed early on those nights anyway. The three of us sat on the couch, in the pitch dark and I squeezed a pillow, basically the entire movie. My legs were so stiff and achy at the end because I had been tensing up so much. And I screamed a few times!
Fri. 7th--Jake and I had planned a trip to the temple on Wednesday, before the unexpected appointment with the rheumatologist came up. And Karcyn was coming back from camp on Thursday afternoon, so we made a date to go down there on Friday. It was the first time Jake has been able to go to the temple in over eight months.
*When we got back into town, I texted my friend, Donna Fruhling. I've ministered to her for two years. And she and her husband, David, were Jake's temple prep teachers last year. They wanted to see Jake and Donna's health is also declining with cancer raging throughout her body. We were able to go to their home and enjoyed a nice visit with each other. They are struggling to get to church, mainly because it's hard to get going in the morning and they are traveling back and forth between College Station and Dallas for her cancer treatments. I asked her if we could arrange to bring the Sacrament to them on Sunday and they said that would be wonderful, but they were leaving town again around 2pm, so it would have to be before church was over. I texted my Relief Society president what we had offered and told her that I would happily volunteer Jake and Cooper to do it because it would be a special opportunity for them to leave church to go minister in this way. The bishop contacted Jake later and it was arranged that Jake and Cooper would take the Fruhlings the Sacrament on Sunday (and I decided to tag along!).
*JJ and his serious "baseball pitcher" pose.
Sat. 8th--Cooper had a state bowling tournament in Houston and there was a bit of confusing surrounding it. He qualified to go and someone even sponsored him and paid for his entry fee. But we weren't sure if he was bowling singles or doubles. And we weren't sure if he could still participate if he participated only on Saturday and not Sunday. Well, between Jake coming home early and the end of school craziness, and Cooper not being able to catch the lady in charge of the tournament, we didn't really know those specifics until the week before. Unfortunately, Cooper needs to request time off a minimum of two weeks prior. By the time we got our answers, he was within the "no request zone" and learned he was scheduled to work THAT Saturday. He opened up the shift for anyone who would like to pick it up. He also told his manager, CJ, that the tournament came up kind of last minute and had put his shift out there for other employees, but no one picked it up. When Cooper was hired, he was told that when you miss a shift, you are written up. Three write-ups in a month and you're fired. Cooper got his first write-up the first week on the job, mostly because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But he's received none since November and CJ's personal friends have even told him how much they enjoyed Cooper as an employee. Cooper is also very willing to pick up extra shifts for others and to come in early or stay late when they are short staffed or when other people are scheduled to work and just don't show up. When Cooper shared his conflict with CJ, the manager, confirmed the work policy that he'd be written up for not coming, which we anticipated. The day of the tournament, CJ texted Cooper wishing him luck, which was so thoughtful.
*Jake was asked by Dr. Wright, if he would be willing to work at the skeet tournament he was hosting at his ranch. Jake was more than happy to make some money, so Jared dropped Jake off at 6:30am, on his way to Houston with Cooper. All Jake had to do was sit in a chair at the ninth rotation and push a button when the participants yelled, "Pull!" Apparently, Jake's station was created by the doctor's nine-year-old son and was super tough. Haha! I guess the clay pigeons came out pretty fast. Jake was done by 1pm, but it was a hot day and he was dog tired, but he now had some money in his pockets.
*JJ learning how to sort and do his own laundry.
Sun.9th--Karcyn wanted to make some cookies. We had to laugh when she presented them and said, "Well, this is my attempt."
Then showing us the box, she said, "This is what they're supposed to look like." Then laughing through the irony, she blurted out, "Nailed it!" Haha! But they tasted just fine!
Mon. 10th--Each of the kids are making dinner on their special day this summer. Calvin wanted to make crunch wrap supremes. He did a great job and they were delish!!
Tues. 11th--This was the one day that President Sharp, our bishop when we moved to College Station, and the former members of his priests quorum--who just returned home from their missions--could get together for a lunch like they used to do every other month. Back in the day, they would try restaurants with different ethnic foods to expose the young men to possible cuisines they may get on their missions. :) What I love most about this picture is that President Sharp was the Stake President who sent each of these young men out on their missions and was there to welcome them all home.
*Cooper went to work later that day and when he arrived, he learned from his manager that he was on probation. When Cooper asked why, he was told it was because he was scheduled to work on Saturday and he was a no-show. Cooper was confused because he was told that if he didn't come to work, he'd be written up--which is a warning. Not probation. He was also told by his manager that they can't trust him. What? That was really disheartening to hear. Cooper works hard and picks up shifts and stays late when asked all the time. How could they not trust him? And while it's true that he didn't work his scheduled shift, it wasn't like he didn't just not show and leave them hanging unexpectedly. He talked to his employer. He tried to get other people to pick it up for him, but no one did. They knew ahead of time he wasn't going to be there so they could prepare as needed. And his manager even wished him luck at his tournament. Sure, Cooper needs to suffer the consequences for his choices. But if Cooper had known that he'd be on probation and not just get written up for going to his bowling tournament, he may not have gone. At least he could have made a more informed decision. And that's what irks me. But welcome to life, buddy! Being on probation meant he wouldn't be scheduled for a certain period of time. How long that would be, we didn't know. Cooper told us they had recently lost a handful of employees, too, so it didn't seem like a very smart move to put an employee who is willing and eager to work on the back burner, but that's on them. Turns out probation lasted a week. But they have only scheduled him one shift a week since summer started. He opened up his available hours since school got out, but he's working less now than he did during the school year. So it's been a little disappointing. This is the time for him to make bank. And it's not working out that way.
*As much as we love reading, it's not yet a favorite past time for JJ and Calvin. So this picture gives me hope.
As does this one.
Wed. 12th--Jake's first time in a pool in over a year. He learned that swimming with his siblings wears him out at supersonic speeds. But the kids loved having him there.
*Jake was planning to attend Institute later that night, but those plans quickly changed when Isaiah texted and asked Jake if he would attend the missionary discussion with him and the elders later that night. Not only did his friend want him there, Jake could get back in the missionary groove. Jake was elated. The boys went out to dinner together after that to talk and catch up and had a great time.
Thurs. 13th--Less than two weeks after I booked the cruise with Karole for September, when I found out Jake was coming home early, I got an urgent feeling that I needed to cancel the cruise. And hopefully get my money back. It was nonrefundable, but I purchased travel insurance. I filled out all the required paperwork (6 pages), waited to get a doctor's note from Dr. Wright, then scanned and sent off the documents to the travel insurance company and prayed that I accurately jumped through their hoops.
*Jake got on the scale and it showed he's gained five pounds since coming home. I've had to really get on him to eat. He just has no appetite so if I don't make something for him and put it in front of him, he won't eat. And even when I do, I still have to persuade him and sometimes give him stink eye to make sure he chokes it all down. But it's paying off.
Fri. 14th--Jake and I spent four hours at the hospital so he could get the two hour Cosyntropin Stimulation test done. They drew baseline blood first, gave him something similar to cortisol and then drew his blood every thirty minutes after that for two hours.
Jake reads and studies his Hungarian scriptures as well as his English scriptures every day. He is very vigilant about making sure he does not lose his language skills. We're grateful that he has several friends in Hungary as well as his former MTC instructors who are all happy to talk with him in Hungarian. That's meant the world to Jake.
*Jake was looking through Jared's old mission pictures and found these. He swore he was looking at Cooper! Cooper definitely takes after the Hough side of the family.
*I try and remind my kids of this all the time.
Sat. 15th--Jared worked at the City of Bryan clinic from 8-noon and then he, Jake and I picked up Karole and we went to Houston Temple for a session together. While we were waiting for it to begin, the power flickered, then went out completely for about ten-fifteen seconds. It was pretty wild. We did our usual meal stop at Torchy's before heading home.
*Haha! Accurate!
*Sun. 16th--When Jake left on his mission, we expected only two phone calls from him each year...Christmas and Mother's Day. When the communication guidelines for missionaries changed back in February, Jared was so excited that he would now get a call from Jake on Father's Day this year. But Jared got the real deal instead! :)
*We had a turkey in our freezer, so we decided to smoke it since we did that for the first time at Thanksgiving and Jake missed out on the divine eating that smoked turkey is. We also had a special brine for it back in November, so I tried a different brine recipe I made from scratch and crossed my fingers. Because our ward meets from 12-2, we were debating about when to smoke it. I wasn't comfortable leaving it at home unsupervised, but it takes about 4 hours, so we either had to get up early to do it or eat late. Sunday morning, it looked like we were going to get some weather in the afternoon, so Jared started it that morning. Fortunately, it was done by 11:30--under four hours. And before church! And it was AMAZING! I don't think I can eat turkey any other way now.
*Jake was able to make arrangements to talk to a family from Tatabanya, Hungary around 7am that morning. They would be going to Germany to be sealed that following week. It was really, really special for Jake to talk to them and catch up with their family. The wife was like his Hungarian mom as he got to spend six out of his eight months in their branch. He also got to talk to Lala before church as well and we got to say a quick American hello and wish him a Happy Father's Day.
*Calvin has already learned how to tie a necktie, but he hadn't done it for awhile and wanted a refresher course. So all the boys piled in the bathroom (Jake was on the phone) and the scene warmed my heart. It was a very fitting picture to capture on Father's Day.
*Daddy and his little girl.
*As suspected, there was a strong storm headed our way. Jake was SO excited about this one. Not just because of the magnitude of it, but because it's in the shape of Hungary. Haha!
*Calvin and JJ looked out the back door, watching the lightning bolts as the storm drew closer.
*JJ and Karcyn made sharks out of Legos and gave them to Jared for Father's Day. JJ got so good at building them, that he challenged others to try and put them together. With his help, of course.
Jake trying his hand at his own Lego master skills with JJ carefully monitoring his work.
And lending a hand.
Mon. 17th--Jake took JJ outside to practice his baseball skills with him. I know Jake was tired, as usual, but I love that he finds time for his siblings no matter how he feels.
*Calvin had a gift card to Hobby Lobby that he got for Christmas and he was ready to spend it. He purchased a venus fly-trap terrarium. He's pretty excited about it. Takes a few months for the plants to grow. Fingers crossed!
Tues. 18th--I did a ministering visit with one of my Young Women's presidents and when we finished, she asked if I happened to see her trampoline out front. I did notice the mangled trampoline and asked her if that had anything to do with the storm that rolled through on Sunday. She said it did. She showed me this spot in their backyard. When they knew the weather was going to be iffy, they pushed their trampoline up as close to the house as possible. Later that night, they found it across the street up next to the fence!! As near as they can tell, the trampoline somehow went from back here,
and around the back of the house (notice it missed all the cars in the driveway AND that propane tank there in the middle left of the picture!)
and then smacked the palm tree in half
before it landed across the street, lying gently against that fence!
There was another car sitting in the driveway right here and the trampoline completely missed it as well! Whether it rolled across the ground or was picked up by the wind before it smacked into the palm tree, we don't know. But either way, it was truly miraculous. This friend of mine is living with her four girls, while her husband is in Utah for the summer. They are definitely being watched over! That just shows you how crazy the Texas weather is. When we had a tornado here in town back in May, there weren't even any leaves on the ground. But this "regular" storm did more damage. As I was driving over to this house, I saw several mature trees that had been blown over or been broken in half and lots of tree debris in the yards and on the streets.
*This is not an uncommon sight with Jake these days. He slept from 3-5pm. We are sure hoping that the sleep study will shed some light on this. Nothing else we do is explaining it. This is not normal. Especially for this guy! He makes the most of every minute he has, prioritizes his time and works harder than anyone we know. Usually he is multi-tasking because he knows his time is precious and doesn't want to waste it.
Thurs. 20th--One day shy of one year when Cooper got his sinus surgery, JJ was in the same hospital and even the same pre-surgery room. He has HUGE adenoids apparently, so Dr. Salzer was going to take those out. We had to be at the hospital at 6:30am. I thought that was early but there were people already in surgery ahead of us. They like to do the children's procedures first thing.
It was cold in the room, so we got JJ a warm blanket. He brought Kenge (Ken-gay) his monitor lizard with him.
Just like last year, Dad got to go into surgery with JJ.
JJ was excited. Even put up the hospital railings so there was one less thing for the nurses to do. ;)
About 30 minutes after they rolled JJ off, they were rolling him back in to the room. Jared and Dr. Salzer both came out to see me. They said he did great. They did an allergy test on him (via blood samples) and found that there was still fluid behind his ears, so the doc went ahead and put tubes in while they had him there. Once I was back in the room with JJ, the nurses told me he was sleeping pretty hard. So it was just a matter of him waking up. He started stirring about 10-15 minutes later. He was complaining about his throat hurting (they have to go up by way of the throat). He also said his head was hurting. We got him some ice water to sip. He closed his eyes again and was settled for a minute as I stroked his hair before he started getting restless again. That's when he coughed the "I'm about to throw up" cough. I grabbed the trashcan from behind me and helped sit him up and we made it into the can! After he threw up, he felt better. He's like his mom. A lightweight when it comes to anesthesia. I always get sick after being under. The nurse came back in and when I told her he thew up, she went to check and see if we could give him something to help with the nausea. That's when Jared came into the room. She needed provider approval to give him some more meds. That's also when the nurse realized we were from the same family. :) With Jared's approval, she got him some Zofran and then I went to go get the car. She brought him out in a wheelchair for us and we headed home. It was about 11am. So we were gone for five hours.
JJ was out again before I even left the hospital parking lot.
I had to pick up a couple of meds at the pharmacy, so I dropped JJ off at home first and got him settled before going back out. As soon as we parked in the garage, his older siblings were waiting at the door to welcome him home. I think it was Karcyn who gushed, "Ohhh, JJ. Welcome home, little buddy!" Quickly followed by, "Wow! Your nose looks smaller now!" Haha! Funny since the adenoids are at the back of the nose.
We were prescribed some ear drops that I was informed were $70 when I was checking out. Fortunately, the tech gave me a heads up and said that if I used my phone to online, I could get a coupon so I would only have to pay $30 and she would help walk me through it. I was so grateful!!
*Watching movies later with big brother cuddling.
Sat. 22nd--Jared had to work the previous weekend and he would be out of town the next weekend, so we decided it would be a fun "Father's Day" activity so go see the movie
Aladdin together as a family. We invited Karole to join us and bought our tickets online several days before. Saturday morning, shortly after Calvin woke up, he complained of a stomach ache and then threw up around 7am. He threw up again about forty minutes later. But nothing after that. Sadly, he and I had to forgo our seats at the theater and missed out on the family movie that morning. Which was a bit of a bummer. The only time we see movies as a family is on Christmas Day or when someone else is treating! *sigh* But we made the best of it. Calvin watched the "Sandlot" while I mopped (not just spot cleaned) the floors downstairs. A job that had been neglected for months.
*Jake decided he wanted to try jogging later that day. He hasn't exercised since this condition hit him on May 4th. He had been working out and running all the way up to that point. I was a little concerned with him jogging in the heat. He said he was just doing a lap (1.1 miles) around the neighborhood. He was back in 11 minutes. Even at his sickly slowest, he is STILL faster than me. I average around 11 1/2 to 12 minutes. This picture is post run and post shower. He looks tired for sure, but he's not miserable. He felt proud of himself for his small victory.
*Sun. 23rd--JJ had a talk to give in Primary. Because of his surgery and recovery, we didn't get around to writing it until Sunday morning. But JJ wanted to write his own talk. Which he did. However, he said he'd give the talk Jared wrote in Primary and the the one he wrote in his class. :) He did a wonderful job and only needed help with a couple of the words. What I loved most is that as soon as he started talking, a quiet hush fell in the room. This was junior Primary--with all the kids ages 3-7. His talk was about five minutes and they were quiet and reverent the entire time. It was really cool. When JJ was done, he turned to a couple of the leaders as he got ready to step down from the podium and said, "Phew. I made it." They got a kick out of that. We got a kick out of his clothing ensemble that he picked out. It really didn't look all that bad! He reminded us of our friend Lala and so sent this picture to Lala in front of the Hungarian house blessing and JJ called himself "Little Lala."
*Jake and Cooper were given the opportunity to bless the Sacrament together in church. That was the first time for them (minus the time they took Sacrament to the Fruhlings) because Cooper turned 16 when Jake was on his mission.
*I probably shouldn't have taken this picture in church, but I love how Calvin is following Jake's example of taking notes during Sacrament meeting while listening to the speakers.
*We invited Jake's friend, Isaiah, over for dinner with us so we could fellowship him more. He'll be going to A&M University, so Jake won't always be around and we wanted him to be comfortable with us. We had a lively dinner conversation, as usual, but Jared was cracking himself up. And we were all laughing at him. Jared said the boys needed to see "Johnny Lingo." So after we ate dinner, we found it on the Mormon Channel and watched that epic 70's classic video. They all thought it was funny and Isaiah survived dining with the crazy Houghs. After Isaiah left, we decided to watch the documentary on the Studio C cast as a family later that night. My phone was on the counter by the kitchen, and my ringer was off like it usually is. After the documentary was over around 8:20, I went to see if I had any messages. I had a missed call and a message from a number from Bryan, TX so I listened to the voicemail. It was the Sleep Study Center. They had a cancellation and wondered if we could come. But they called at 7:50 and it was now 8:25. I called back as soon as I could get my fingers to dial the numbers. But there was a just a machine. I told them that yes we could totally come, though I figured it was probably too late. Dang it!! I knew we were on the cancellation list, but I never DREAMED they'd call on a Sunday night. Nor did I think the cancellation list would be literally at the last minute. Shoot. I was so mad for not having my phone closer and for not having my ringer on. I was more mad than Jake. He wasn't mad at all. Just said he obviously wasn't supposed to do it that night. So lesson learned. Cell phone ringer on and be prepared in the evenings for a possible call.
Mon. 24th--Karcyn started a week long sewing camp (4 hours each afternoon). When she completes the class, she will take home the sewing machine that she used. I really hoped she would learn important sewing skills/basics to help her throughout her life because her mom didn't and won't be able to teach her.
*Cooper had an appointment to get three in-grown toenails removed at the podiatrist. Eck. Jake came with us for moral support. Cooper has had this done a few times and was traumatized by the last numbing experience. Fortunately, the doctor did it the "nice" way and we made it through. He squeezed my hands for most the time!
Gross!! These are the culprits. The one on the left is from his left big toe and the two from both sides of his right big toe.
*While I was letting Cooper squeeze my hand, I had Jake sit down in the chair. He noticed he got an email from a young woman he doesn't know. Her name is Summer and she was at Auburn University and got to know an Elder from our stake that Jake knows. I guess Elder Larson told Summer about Jake's condition because she got Jake's email address and reached out to him. She had to leave Auburn for some similar health issues. So they spent a lot of time (since they have a lot of that) communicating with each other and sharing experiences. Jake mentioned the next day or two that Summer was actually an answer to one of his prayers that he had forgotten about. When Jake was coming home he prayed that Heavenly Father would help him connect with *someone* who would understand the frustration and heartbreak of putting your life on hold for unknown health reasons. And Summer was that person. They've never met, she lives in California, but they've established a friendship where they can minister to each other. Jake had forgotten about that prayer, until Summer answered it. Which I thought was really cool.
Tues. 25th--Technically, Calvin's special day is Monday and he was going to cook dinner that night. Except the recipe we chose was one that needs 8 hours in the crock pot and between Karcyn's 9am piano lesson, then the grocery store, it was after 11 by the time we got back so we switched him to Tuesday instead. I wanted to teach him how to make "faux-tisserie chicken." He LOVES the rotisserie chickens from Sam's Club, which are super tasty. He especially loves the crispy skin. This recipe doesn't make crispy skin, but the flavor is good and the chicken is so moist and best of all, he can do it in his own crock pot at college or on the mission.
I was proud of him for just gettin' in there--washing the chicken, removing the neck and seasoning it with garlic under the skin.
And it was delicious! He did a wonderful job!
*Our friends, the Machs, who were visiting from Hawaii, came by to say hello. They were visiting their family here in Texas the three oldest were going to the same EFY session as Cooper. Jake and Kyla are really good friends and while they never expected to see each other again this soon, Kyla made Jake promise not to see "Spider Man: Into the Spiderverse" until she could watch it with him. She and Jake geek out over Marvel and Star Wars movies together, among other things. :) So it was a real treat for them both to have an unexpected reunion together. They made plans to watch the movie Tuesday night and Kyla's brother, Durham, stayed and hung out with Cooper.
Wed. 26th--We had our follow up appointment with the rheumatologist--Dr. Pocurull. He came in and the first thing he said was, "I'm confused. I thought you weren't in pain, but you said you're taking motrin." Well, if Jake's bowling or doing something that's using muscles he hasn't used in awhile, he takes it for that. Obviously the doctor wants to know about any pain he's having. Once he understood, the doctor said that there really wasn't anything else he could do for us--unless of course his psorasis gets worse. All the blood work he redrew had normal results. The two hour test was normal. The low immunoglobulin level was an error read previously. His last words to us in this less than 3 minute visit was, "My bet is on the sleep study." We thanked him for his thoroughness and time and we were off.
*I took Jared to the Easterwood Airport here in College Station. He was off to another conference, this time to Minnesota to learn more about allergies. The ENT clinic he works for has a separate allergy and sinus center that he's trying to get credentialed for and this conference will help with that. Before I got home, Jared texted that his flight was delayed because the plane he needed to get on hadn't arrived yet. He wouldn't be
leaving until 4:45pm and his flight in Houston starts boarding at 5:40pm. And we had another storm moving through our area. (How does this always happen to him when he's trying to fly in or out of College Station??) With the current delay, that would give Jared about 20 minutes between getting off the plane in Houston and getting to his gate and he learned he was the very last seat on the puddle jumper from College Station. I prayed hard. Jared prayed hard and he was able to hop on the tram and made it to his gate with seconds to spare. He was actually more worried about his luggage, which was a very valid concern. I was thrilled to hear that his bag made it to Minnesota at the same time he did!!
*I had to drive Karcyn to church for her week night activity because Cooper was at A&M for his activity. I had previously picked up some yellow flowers to take to my senior friend, Ruth Graham. I made sure to take them with us so the boys and I could swing them by her place on our way home from the church. The boys really wanted to go inside and Ruth graciously invited us in. We said hi to her husband, Bob, who is bedridden in a hospital bed in her living room. She showed the boys where, Sunny, the pitch black cat was (Calvin remembered her from another visit he joined me on last year). Then she showed us her craft room where she puts together HUGE puzzles. They were so impressed. JJ asked to do one and she lent it to us. She said it was the hardest one she's ever done because the background is black. JJ wanted to start on it right away--and he wasn't kidding.
He and I worked on it for an hour and a half when we got home. And a little bit the next morning and then he just gave up! :(
*I noticed we have a vine climbing up our house! Kind of cool!
Thurs. 27th--Jake and Cooper went on a double date. Something else they've never done together. Cooper asked a girl, Abigail, from school. They were on the same bowling league this past fall. And she invited him to her birthday party in the spring and he happened to be the only guy there. Whether he was the only young man invited, we're not sure. :) Jake invited his friend, Rhianna, to go with him. And they went bowling, of course! Abigail beat them all. Then they played at the arcade. They had a good time, although, I'm not sure Cooper presented this activity as a double date to Abigail when he asked her. Hopefully she figured that out. *sigh* This was Cooper's second date in 8 months. He's worked virtually every weekend since he turned 16 and there's always the issue of who to double with. I don't know if that's hard for youth who try to maintain the For Strength of Youth Standards everywhere or just those who live here in the south.
*I'm getting this for Cooper when he has a baby. This is his response
every time someone says, "Hey Coop, guess what?"
*Cooper's special day is Thursday so it was his turn to make dinner. He LOVES this soup. It does something to his soul so he chose this and it was delicious. In fact, he had to leave before it was done simmering to go run an errand with his friend, Durham. So he didn't get to eat any. Fortunately, there was barely one bowl left when he got back later that night. It truly is delicious (even with GF noodles!) and so easy.
Fri. 28th--The afternoon was filled with lots of errands for me. First, JJ had a follow up appointment with Dr. Salzer at 3:30. But because Jared was out of the office at the conference, Dr. Salzer saw 65 patients and needed his "Hough help" so they were behind about 35 minutes. Karcyn's sewing class was having an "art show" at 4:30 since it was their final day. I had invited Karole to come watch as well. As it was, I still needed to get gas at Sam's, pick up my grandpa's guitar from the shop that Jake dropped off, and take Cooper his dinner at work that he didn't pack before he left. Fortunately, Karole was there on time for Karcyn. We moved pretty quickly. Gas didn't take too long. The guitar pick up took a little more time, but it looks good and they charged $150 less than we were quoted which ALWAYS makes me happy. By the time we got to the sewing store at 4:45, I didn't see Karole's car. I texted her and she said they were already on their way home. Man. That was super fast! I felt bad we missed it, but was grateful Karole could pick up my slack.
*Karcyn made a bookmark, a small bean bag and CHECK OUT THIS TOTE BAG!!!!! Oh my gosh, I am IN LOVE!!!! I want it so bad. We are going to the fabric store for more supplies as soon as we can and I am going to have Karcyn make me one. She wants to earn money washing cars or doing some other hot and sweaty chore. I told her that she could make much more money and hone her craft by making these bags and selling them. Let me know if you're interested! :) I love how long the handles are and they're sturdy!! It's taking all that I have not to swipe that bag from her! Haha!!
Sat. 29th--I worked out with my trainer, Bailey, at 7:30am for about 45 minutes. We had to cut things short though because Jake and I received a personal invitation from President Sharp and Elder Stanley G. Ellis (emeritus general authority--you can read more about him
HERE) to attend the coordinating council meeting in Houston from 11-2. It would be featuring service missionaries and service mission leaders from Texas to discuss more about the service mission program the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is rolling out for youth ages 18-25. Elder Ellis is the mission president over these service missionaries. It isn't expected that Jake will finish his mission as a service missionary, but if it is determined later that this is the only way for him to serve, then it would be valuable information for us to have. Stake Presidents/wives and bishops/wives are all invited to attend this meeting, but as it turns out, President Sharp said he and Bishop Graham had other stake meetings to attend that morning. But our friends, Jeff (stake high councilor) and Annie Hatala would be going as well as the Stake RS President. Jared would be out of town, but I gratefully accepted on behalf of the Houghs and let them know that Jake and I would be there.
I've never driven to this stake center in Houston alone before, but we made it with 20 minutes to spare. It was a wonderful experience. We enjoyed meeting many wonderful leaders. Elder and Sister Ellis are simply the best. (I loved the
TALK he gave in General Conference two years ago: "Do We Trust Him? Hard is Good"). And though not invited in my church calling capacity, I thought this information was really important for a Stake Young Women's President to know as well.
When the service mission leaders were introducing themselves and their spouses at the pulpit in the opening segment, this woman (pictured below) got up for her turn and said, "We are the Kendricks" and I didn't hear anything else. Because her voice and her name and then her face was all I needed to realize this was Julie Kendrick--my Beehive adviser in Marietta, GA from thirty years ago!!! I could not believe it. And her husband, Hal, was my bishop when we moved to Alaska from that ward 27 years ago! I went up to her to introduce myself by my maiden name and it was funny because HE remembered me first. Haha. Then she was so relieved I still had my red hair because that helped make the connection! So WILD!!! Never in a million years would I have expected a connection like this.
A selfie with the Hatalas. :) While we were eating a delicious brisket lunch, Jared texted me from Minnesota asking if I saw that the local church boundaries were changing again? I.did.not. Sure enough, I found the email...the stake presidency was realigning the Bryan and College Station ward boundaries to help create more strength in numbers (the Bryan wards are not growing as much) and unity within the stake. They would also be
renaming the wards. Annie was the first to make the connection and said, "So this is why none of the bishops could attend the coordinating council meeting. They were all meeting together about this today." But it worked out great, because one of the leaders from Salt Lake City was the Hatala's old bishop from another state--making for some crazy reunions that took place for us College Station Stake peeps.
*I later learned that my parents had actually served in South Africa with Elder Ellis and his wife! They've played card games with them and threw Elder Ellis a birthday party. My mom and Sister Ellis worked at the gatehouse together. Man. Wish I had known that BEFORE I went to Houston! More crazy connections!! (Picture courtesy of my mom).
*Another fun storm rolled through Saturday night. Loved it!!!!
Sun. 30th--We had our last Sunday as members of the College Station 1st Ward. It was a fifth Sunday, so Bishop Graham taught a combined lesson with the youth and adults. It was about how some people are exception hunters, loophole finders or out-of-the-box thinkers, which is great in your education or profession. But not when it comes to living the gospel of Jesus Christ. We had a great discussion and all the Houghs participated in some way by making comments or reading scriptures. There was a lovely couple who was visiting our ward that day. We later learned that they are the EFY directors for the first session of EFY--the same week Cooper will be attending, so he went to have a chat with them after church was over.
*Jared was flying back into College Station at 3pm. The stake boundary change meeting was at 4pm. I got the kids dropped off at home around 2:30 with just enough time to get them settled and go to the bathroom and grab a white shirt and tie for Jared to change into before leaving the house again with Jake and picking up Karole. I dropped them off at church so they could get seats and I drove further up the road to meet Jared at the airport. He changed into his shirt and tie while I waited for his bag and we were off to the stake center.
*The two counselors in the stake presidency bore their testimonies about these changes and what the experience was like for them as they counseled about it together. They said they worked on so many different options and once they found the solution, it went pretty quick once they got started. It was exciting and a little bit scary for them, too. They worked closely with Elder Douglas and the North America Southwest area presidency who had to approve the changes first before the First Presidency. In the spirit of the doctrine, people may wonder what is this all about. It's the doctrine of ministering. Which means more now than ever before. There will be more members in the wards which will allow more ministering to the one.
We learned that renaming units in the Church is a very difficult thing to do. Yet, the Stake is trying to create more unity, so they felt they needed to do away with ward names that indicated individual cities (Bryan or College Station) so there would no longer be an "Us vs. Them" feel within these geographic units. Church Handbook 1 has very specific instructions on this and it's very difficult to get approval for. You can't use directions like East or West when creating ward names. You can however, use a geographic feature, or prominent street or school.
These were the changes:
--The Stake will be going from five English speaking wards in this area to four. We still have four outlying branches.
--The Bryan 1st Ward is being absorbed by the other wards.
--The Bryan 2nd Ward is now the Briarcrest Ward (named after a prominent street). This unit will have previous Bryan and CS members in it.
--The College Station 2nd Ward is now the Creek View Ward (named after an elementary school).
--The College Station 3rd Ward (our previous ward prior to the boundary changes from two years ago) is now the Greens Prairie Ward (named after the elementary school my kids used to attend).
--The College Station 1st Ward is now the River Bend Ward (named after the new elementary school opening next month where JJ will attend). This will also have previous Bryan and CS members.
--The Bryan 3rd Branch (correctional facility) is now the Hopes Creek Branch. (Love that name!)
We missed the boundaries for the River Bend ward by about two miles (at the most). I'm actually disappointed we won't be able to be a part of the new mix of CS and Bryan members. I was really looking forward to that. Our family is, more or less, headed back to the ward we left two years ago--the Greens Prairie Ward. As a stake leader who visits and supports the different units regularly, I know these changes were inspired and I'm really excited about the potential blessings and growth and unity that will come from them for all the members. Fun and historic times!
