Sat. 2nd--The Stake Young Men and Young Women were gathering in Brenham, TX for a service project to help Hope Rising. This organization works with the victims of human trafficking and uses equine therapy to aid in the healing process. It's a very inspiring place and as the director explained what they do and who they do it for, the Spirit bore a powerful witness to me that God is working miracles through Hope Rising.
Before I was released from the Stake Young Women, I was involved in helping get this project underway and REALLY wanted to participate. So I let my replacement know and she was awesome at keeping me in the loop. Adults attending had to have background checks and fingerprinting done in order to volunteer. Karcyn and I ended up being the only two from the Caldwell Branch participating. So I reached out to the Greens Prairie ward (the unit we are geographically zoned for) and asked if we could tag along with them. I actually ended up being a fourth or fifth car that transported youth.
It was a beautiful day.
I'm not gonna lie. I didn't think we'd even get all the primer on the fence. Especially because the organization didn't expect as many youth as we had (which happened to us last year when we went to the new food bank) and thus, they didn't have an adequate supply of paint brushes and primer/paint. So a few leaders went into town to buy more. And a miracle happened. Before we had to leave, that fence was painted bright red. It was pretty awesome! As a bonus, Karcyn was able to put the 3.25 hours toward the five required per semester by NJHS.
*Calvin posing with Emaline Upton--our neighbor and friend from church. Although, the Upton girls go to a different school than we do and we go to a different unit in church than they do. Sadly, our paths don't cross very often these days. Even still, Calvin and Emaline enjoy each other's company--and sometimes they give each other a hard time like siblings do.
Sun. 3rd--JJ wrote a letter to Santa Claus during Sacrament Meeting. That wasn't exactly what I had in mind when he said he wanted to write a letter.
Thurs. 7th--Seriously? He has to only write two letters for his name. They happen to be the same letter and he still forgets to write it on his paper? *sigh*
This became our third RJ (Ruth and Jenn) Day. :)
We all had a wonderful experience together at the temple.
Once we connected with Jake, we learned he was on his way home from seeing a sleep specialist in Cincinnati. His symptoms started getting worse that week. He said he had an episode of cataplexy for the first time. We were a bit confused. He was diagnosed as not having narcolepsy with cataplexy. He said that the specialist in Ohio explained that if you have narcolepsy as an autoimmune response and not as a consequence of a long illness or head injury, you will have cataplexy eventually. Usually it takes years to develop. But not in Jake's case apparently. The specialist ordered a higher dosage of the meds he was on for the daytime. And recommended a very controlled substance to help him sleep at night. Except that this particular nighttime drug (xyrem) which I've been told is in the same class as the date/rape drug, is clearly not one that Jake can have while on a mission. We don't even want him on it at home. Long story short, we told Jake to give the higher dose daytime med a try and see what happens. He'd know soon enough. And if it didn't work and he had to come home, then so be it. We're proud of him no matter what.
Later that night, President Sharp called. I had texted him after we spoke with Jake on the phone. He had spoken with the Mission President and learned that Jake would indeed be coming home. President Sharp was just as surprised as we were at these latest developments. But he knows that Jake gave it everything he had. And then some.
President Ensign and his wife also called us around 8pm that evening. They wanted to tell us that Jake was an amazing missionary, but just isn't feeling well at all. Pres. Ensign had Jake call missionary medical to find out if the meds that the specialist had prescribed were allowed. They weren't. And we were stunned to learn that the meds that Jake was currently on, the ones he took with him to Ohio, were also not allowed. So Jake would have been coming home anyway as soon as he went to get his refill. You can read more about our feelings and testimony regarding this turn of events recorded here in Jake's last mission email.
Sat. 9th--Karole had wanted to take the family to see the movie "Abominable" but we were never able to mesh our calendars before the movie left the theaters. I heard it was really cute. But there was another movie, "Playing with Fire" that looked funny and something the whole family would enjoy. So we made a date to see that on Saturday morning. Sadly, Cooper had to work. He is a busy boy. We're grateful he has a job he enjoys and a steady income and means to save for his mission. But it does come at the cost of missing out on some family things.
The movie was better than I expected, honestly. I'd definitely see it again. On our way home, we picked up JJ's friend, Scott, and took him back to our house for a play date.
*As part of preparing to enter the Young Men program, Calvin needed to do some service. He really wanted to babysit Cole Downs, from our ward, who also lives in our neighborhood. He's almost three. We've loved watching him grow. I used to babysit him a couple days a week when his mom and dad both worked a couple years ago. I was finally able to talk to Cole's mom about a day that would work for her to have some adult time and we arranged for him to come play at our house with Calvin for a couple hours that Saturday. Cole wasn't so sure about being at our house by himself, but it didn't take long for him to warm up. Calvin LOVED doting on his little buddy. They played outside, they played ball inside. They played with the toys upstairs and watched some cartoons. Cole never cried.
*Jared had just finished his first week at the new medical clinic in Normangee as the solo provider there. It was worse than he thought it would be. While the label of "Primary Care" isn't wrong, because that is a huge umbrella term. The more accurate label would be "Geriatrics." Jared didn't see but one patient under 55 that week. And the elderly patients he saw are very sick and very complicated cases. And a bit of a mess, because the doctor that was there before Jared didn't do squat. Unfortunately, Jared was never trained in this field of medicine. The Primary Care practice that Jared worked at for eight years in Oregon was a very young and healthy group of patients. When the cases became too complicated, the doctor would send the patients to Internal Medicine to continue care with them. Needless to say, Jared was feeling very overwhelmed and stressed and was trying not to panic. He realized that it was just the first week and new changes take time. However, it doesn't take long to realize you're on a sinking ship. Unfortunately, he was placed there because his job was no longer viable at the ENT clinic. Jared was stuck. He was extremely worried about the patients--what if he missed something? What if he did something he thought was right, and it wasn't? Not only did he worry about the patients' safety and welfare, but he worried about his job. Nowadays, if things go wrong in your employment, they get attached to your permanent record. So if Jared left this job, those problems would follow him wherever he went. He wasn't willing to put either of those things at risk. He knew he had to talk to, Tina, who is over the rural clinics. But what would she or the hospital do? They already have an open house in Normangee scheduled for the following week. Jared is good at everything he does, but his super power is definitely in the urgent care setting. He loves it and is most comfortable there. Feeling like we were at a really big turning point regarding Jared's job, I got online to do a search for any urgent care positions available in the College Station vicinity or commutable area. Even though we didn't want to quit his job at the hospital or relocate for that matter, thirteen years into his career, Jared should have a little bit of say in what kind of medicine he feels comfortable practicing. I did a couple of searches before I found a posting that made me stop in disbelief. It was for a PA-C, posted a month ago, looking to fill a full-time position at the Bryan Urgent Care--which is where Jared was going to go to 20 months ago before he decided to try ENT. I was stunned. There WAS a spot for Jared exactly where he wanted to be. He even texted the manager (who loves Jared) to find out if it was a legitimate opening. It was. Beginning 12/1. Jared had some leverage. And we had some hope. But now he had to convince the hospital to move him.
We hopped on the train and we rode along (at a painstakingly slow pace), making a few stops before we arriving at terminal B. And we still had to go to terminal A. Hopefully he was in baggage claim. As we pulled up to terminal B, Jared shouted, "There he is!" There he was, with all his bags, waiting to get on the train to go back to terminal A. His plane arrived in terminal A, but his bags were in terminal B. He figured we'd be going to terminal A because that's what the arrival screen said and he was right. Except that we intercepted him, miraculously, on the train in terminal B. We were SO happy to see him.
Mon. 11th--But no matter how he feels, Jake is always looking for ways to lift and help another. We had experienced some very strong winds that morning. As Jake and I came back into the subdivision from the grocery store on Monday (also garbage day), Jake told me to pull over so he could jump out and get the garbage cans and recycling bags that had blown into the middle of the road.
Monday afternoon, I got an email from the jury services director stating that we were dismissed from reporting on Tues. 12th. HOORAY!!! My prayers were answered!!!
*We had invited our friends, the Prosser/Jensen family from Bryan (also serving in the branch) to join us for dinner. Jared and I minister to Kate and Jared and Cooper minister to the family. We wanted to get to know them better. Unfortunately, Alex came home with strep that afternoon and was unable to be there. But we enjoyed having Kate and the kids.
This was also D-day for Jared. The day that Jared would be meeting with his supervising physician, who is also the Chief Medical Officer, and other administrators to share his personal and professional concerns about the hospital moving Jared to a rural clinic in Normangee with a very high geriatric population when Jared has never been trained to practice this kind of medicine. There were many valid points Jared needed to make. He needed to voice them for himself and for the record.
As it turns out, however, only Tina, from middle management was there. They have to schedule another meeting with the upper administrator, Mark, his supervising physician, and his peer advocate. Who knew when that would be, though. This was the second time they put Jared off. The message Tina passed along was that he needs to "give it more time." This has happened to Jared's colleagues before. I get that. I do. New changes require an adjustment period. But at the same time, if you are uncomfortable and unsettled, there's a problem. And we found ourselves at a major crossroads. If the hospital wouldn't take action and allow Jared to move to the express care in Bryan, then we would be moving ourselves out of College Station. We certainly don't want to leave. But Jared didn't need this stress and worry. I was really bummed for Jared--all that emotional work up for this meeting that didn't even happen had to be postponed even longer.
I was, however, really grateful to be with my friend, enjoying beautiful San Antonio, a two hour lunch at Kneaders, and the gorgeous temple, inside and out.
It was a beautiful time of day to be on the temple grounds. That time right before the sun starts to set and you can see the lights on the inside.
*Natassia and I didn't have any set plans for our full day on Saturday. Which is saying A LOT. I don't know that I've ever NOT had plans. But it was easy to just go with the flow with Natassia. After a delicious (and free) buffet breakfast at the hotel, we decided to venture out to the Japanese Gardens. Also free. And beautiful! I loved the stone "architecture" that was used around the gardens.
It was such a gorgeous day!
This was a first time experience for me at any botanical gardens and I didn't expect that there would be different sections. Like a zoo. When we first walked in, there were vegetable and herb gardens. Super cool. They had a desert section. They had a cactus and succulent section. They had a rainforest section. There was even an area of the garden that simulated three different geographic areas in Texas.
That ant perched up on the hill is HUGE. I could walk under it. And like the other big bugs on display, it's sculpted out of different types of wood.
I was able to fill up with gas on our way back to the hotel without making a huge detour in a city I'm not familiar with, which was such a blessing. Once we returned, we changed into our bathing suits and headed down to soak in the hot tub. According to Natassia's watch, we walked over 10,000 steps that day. Didn't feel like it. We had a great time, super awesome conversation, and could not have asked for more beautiful weather!
Sun. 17th--Around 4am that blasted alarm went off again! This time, I grabbed it and put it in the closet. Except as I was walking back to bed, I SWORE I heard it going off. But when I went back to the closet, I didn't hear it. So I walked back to the bed, but I heard it again! Ahh! Was I hearing things? Was it the alarm in someone else's room? Finally, I grabbed the alarm and put it in the bathroom with under the pool towels and closed the door. That oughtta do it!
*When we checked out, we let the front desk know about the ornery alarm clock. And then we set out on our three hour drive back to College Station for Stake Conference. It worked out really well for Natassia because she was able to see several people all at once who normally meet for church at different times.
Elder Kevin Hamilton was the General Authority who was coming to visit. He also had a special meeting with the Stake Youth Council at 9am and Cooper got to meet him and participate in that focused time with him and nine other youth in the stake. Turns out Elder Hamilton was in South Africa when my parents were and they know each other!
Tues.19--This was the morning Jared was meeting (supposedly) with the hospital administrators to let them know all of his concerns and issues about working in Normangee. In order to be proactive and predicting the hospital's next move, Jared had a couple of interviews lined up. We had already begun looking at homes in other cities. We were talking to Karole about what this would mean for her. We had to be ready. Over the past two weeks, I had fasted, I prayed, we went to the temple, I prayed and pleaded some more. I didn't know what more I could do. But I was at peace. Whatever happened, it would be okay. I still didn't know if that meant things would work out the way we hoped, or if it meant change. I was not looking forward to relocating. Not at all. The worst part, though, was seeing Jared stressed and unhappy.
Jared texted me an hour after the meeting began to let me know they had wrapped the discussion up. The only administrator there was his supervising physician (also the CMO), Tina (middle management over rural clinics) and Jared's peer advocate. Jared told me later that night that on his way to the meeting he felt prompted to say a prayer before they began. Not a personal prayer. He'd done that already. But a prayer with everyone. He was a little nervous about this request. But he followed the prompting and they agreed. Jared offered a very simple but heartfelt prayer asking that the things that they would be able to share would be the things that needed to be said and that they would be able to feel calm and have clear minds. Wow. I was so touched to know that a) he had a special prompting from the Lord and b) that he chose to follow it. Jared said because of that prayer, he was able to lay it all out and had no regrets. A definite blessing. The Spirit helped him recall every point and concern that's weighed on him that we've discussed over the past six weeks regarding this new job assignment. During the meeting, when Dr. Cheng (CMO) would offer a solution or suggested that Jared isn't the first person this has happened to and it's worked out for them, Jared was able to counter with a respectful response and follow up questions that left them without any answers for Jared. He was able to anticipate their questions. Dr. Cheng was brutally honest and prepared Jared by telling him that it is not likely the hospital is not going to move him after he's only been there for eight working days and after they did an open house and put his name in the paper (which, Jared did not ask for). In the end, Jared said the hospital is going to do what they're going to do and Jared would respect the decision. (Not that he'd stick around for it). However, Jared did ask that they please let him know their decision as soon as possible. Dr. Cheng asked for a week.
Jared left the meeting and headed to his clinic. He called his peer advocate, Joy, later to find out her take on the meeting. She told him that she didn't feel the hospital was going to budge. They just don't do those kinds of things. She also said that after he left, she told the other two in attendance that if the hospital decides to leave Jared in Normangee, she felt there's a high probability that they would lose Jared as an employee. Which is very true and we appreciated her telling them that so Jared didn't have to.
And then it was a waiting game. But at least Jared had no regrets. As I was waking up the next morning, I jumped out of bed with a thought that had just occurred to me. I told Jared, "I get that the hospital was using your colleague as an example of being moved from an in-town clinic to a rural clinic and that she wasn't happy about it at first, but got used it over time. However, her job is a second income for her household. We only have one income. And it's you. There's a big difference there." Jared smiled and said, "I told them that." I was so surprised. "You did??" He said yes--nothing escaped him. He was right. We had talked about the fact that we are a one income family a month or so ago and hadn't revisited that point before his meeting. I was truly in awe. No matter what happens, we know that the next step is what the Lord wants for our family.
Fri. 22nd--Jared and I had a double date with Alex Prosser and Kate Jensen--whose family serves in the Caldwell Branch as stake specialists like we do. I had seen the previews for the movie "Ford vs. Ferrari" a month prior and knowing Alex likes cars and works on them, asked Kate if that's something they might want to see with us. Kate smiled and said that Alex actually worked for Carroll Shelby in Southern California for about 10 years. Alex told us some epic stories afterwards, including how Shelby gave Alex the jacket off his back! We were really happy to hear Alex enjoyed the movie immensely and the way it was depicted.
*That night, Ruth and I had RJ Day #4--our second craft night at the library. This time, we made gratitude pumpkins. We painted them white and wrote "What are you thankful for?" and then left it blank for our families so they could record their responses right on the pumpkin.
We used chalkboard paint.
*Later that night, we were getting the brine ready so we could soak the turkey in it the next day. Except that I thought I was buying whole peppercorns. Not peppercorns with a grater. So Jared busted into it. Thankfully, no fingers or hands were cut or sliced in the making of this brine.
Time to smoke a 22 lb. bird!
*As I was loading up the suburban with food to take to the potluck, some guy was walking away from our house with a German Shepherd. The guy must have heard me putting stuff in the truck because he turned around and asked me if I knew this dog. I said no, but the dog suddenly turned and barreled right for me. I thought he was going to jump on me or in the back of the car with our food. I slammed the tailgate shut before he could help himself. And ran to get Jared. I told him there was a loose dog and I needed someone to guard the food.
Calvin came out too and announced, "It's Mishka!"--the German Shepherd that lives across the street from us. Calvin has taken care of her before. So he and Jared called her to them and they walked over to the backyard to see how she might have gotten out. There were no cars in the drive way. They found that there was a big, muddy hole under the gate. That was obviously Mishka's exit strategy. Calvin was able to open the gate and they got the dog back in, but she went straight for the hole to get out again. Jared used some buckets and such that were nearby to try and cover the hole and we hoped that would be good enough to keep Mishka in. We called our friends to let them know. We certainly didn't want anything to happen to her.
*On our way to Caldwell. Jake was playing with his new toy, a Remarkable--a digital notepad. He was writing an essay for a scholarship that he needed to submit that day. I was able to edit it for him on our drive. It's a pretty snazzy tool. He's already ordered a lap top for college too.
I'm not sure why JJ was sleeping. If I didn't know any better, I would think the nap was so he'd have enough energy to eat. But he doesn't eat, so that couldn't be it!
Fri. 29th--Despite it being Black Friday, Cooper and I had a date (originally scheduled for Wed. but he had to work) to go get some church clothes for a young man who is investigating the church. He is 13-years-old and comes to church by himself. He's friends with Wade and he's darling. He wears a brown and white striped polo shirt every week because it's the nicest thing he has. He asked to borrow a tie from the young men's president. It's blue and they help him put it on. This young man has been coming to church with Wade since before we came to the branch in August. He bore his testimony at the beginning of November. It was really sweet and touching. The next day, while I was thinking about that, out of the blue, the Spirit said, "You can buy him church clothes." I hadn't even been thinking that he needs church clothes. We love him no matter what. But maybe he would like them. Maybe his parents can't or won't buy them for him. But we can. So we did. I wanted Cooper to join me on this secret mission so he could help me pick out ties and shoes that he thinks would be cool. And then he chose to go to Fazoli's for lunch before we headed home.
Sat. 30th--Saturday morning was the best chance we had to bowl together as a family over the holiday. JJ started styling his hair to look like Jake's. Once it dried, however, it looks more like Ralph Macchio's from back in the day. Haha!
*Jared and I went to Lowes to look at microwaves. Two days AFTER Jake fixes our microwave fan, I used it to warm up some food. Except when I took the food out, it was still cold. Thinking that maybe I hadn't done it long enough, I tried again. Still cold. Dang it. What are the odds, that the fan finally works, but the heating element doesn't? We figured a service call would cost as much as it would to replace it. So we decided to cut our losses and buy a new one. Too bad the cost to install it over the range and haul the other one away was almost as much as the actual microwave itself.
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