Year 2010 Update

Its been quite awhile since I have blogged and the 2010 year has been quite eventful in our household. I have been working at Hobby Lobby since May of 2009 and really enjoy my job. Robert enlisted in the National Guard and was gone from Jan till July and that was so heart breaking for this mom; especially during boot camp (10 weeks) that we didn't get to talk to him much.

Rob had rotator cuff, bicep and labrum surgery July 2nd and recovered till October and then on Sept 29 I had two discs in my neck replaced with my own bone and artificial bone and then fused together so I am now recovering and its been a hard transition. I will be out of work until Dec 22. I have always taken care of Rob during his surgery's so this is a new thing being the patient and I would rather be the care giver in all honesty.

Robert is now dating a wonderful girl, Tracy Schwark and we have really enjoyed her. No drama which has been such a blessing in our lives. He is going to enroll back in school in January to finish his associates degree and then he is looking into going into the Police Academy.

Hall Update

This is our niece, Alyssa on Christmas Eve opening presents. It is amazing how old she is getting.

Here is Zack, our nephew on my side.

This is Travis which is one of our great nephews on Rob's side. He is a very serious baby but loves music so hopefully one day his smiles will come out. I think he is just trying to figure things out.

This is our oldest great nephew, Jack and he will be 3 years old this year. He is very quiet until you get to know him and always runs and hides when he first sees you because he is so reserved. His brother Sam just turned a year old and has the same personality which is quite odd because their dad is our nephew Adam and he has always been the most friendlist and loves people. When Adam married Amber our family got a great addition to our family which is Amber's daughter, Shelby. She is a wonderful sister to the boys and soon she will have a sister. Amber is due to have a girl----YEAH!!!! in May and we are all so excited to add a girl to the abundance of great nephews.

This is Nathan the little chatter box and his brother Noah behind him in the picture. Nathan loves everybody and will talk to anyone and repeat anything!!!! Now his mom, Amy which is Rob's niece is very quiet and reserved...I think they switched babies...lol.

It has been a long time since I have been on the blog here but only because not too much exciting going on. The CHRISTmas season was great as always and am so glad that we have Jesus in our lives. With all the great nephews that we have had over the last few years it was extremely fun to watch the little ones this year open presents and see the joy upon their faces. I didn't get pictures of our great nephew Sam and Aiden opening gifts because Sam was napping and I was helping Aiden open his gift. It is so much fun to see the different personalities they all have.

I am once again without a job and it is getting pretty depressing and now I am waiting to see if I will get the remainder of my 20 week Federal Unemployment Extension. I have been searching but not much out there and many of the jobs I have applied for are part time which I wouldn't mind but I have always carried the health benefits for us so after the 20th of January we will be without health benefits.

We are heading for Orange, Texas on Friday, January 23rd for a mission trip for disaster relief from Hurricane Ike. I am definitely excited for warmer weather because I dislike Michigan weather!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have found a couple construction companies in the area that are looking for work so Rob is going to check that out while we are there. At this point we don't have much to lose. Even if he works there for a few weeks and then comes home for a week or so. Wherever God sends us is what we will have to do. I have been ready to leave Michigan for a few years but Rob has a hard time leaving. The biggest obstacle would be for me is leaving Robert behind but at least I know he has family and friends here. We will see what happens. Even if it is for just a time that is fine also. We just need to be able to pay our bills and put food on our table.

So as we keep searching for work we will keep the faith that God is going to provide for our every provision and keep smiling!!!!

Good and Bad Colon Update

I had a colonoscopy done today and the results were good right now but can turn bad. I have diverticulosis in 2/3 of my colon...yes that is 2/3rds. I was in shock about that and it never goes away but it can be contained with my diet. Now I am back on fruits and veggies since I need 25-30 grams of fiber a day. I can have red meat twice a week and I LOVE red meat so this is going to be the biggest challenge of them all. I am not a turkey, chicken and fish eater and of course I can have all I want of that. Limited dairy since it does curdle and clings to a colon that does not work properly. Whole grain breads, pastas and rices are a good thing along with high fiber cereal (most high fiber cereal taste like eating hay) but I can do Raisin Bran which has 7 grams per cup.

The colonoscopy was a breeze and I didn't feel a thing and the fastest test done when you are put out. What they use to put you out doesn't make you feel droggy (is that a word?) when you wake up and you pretty much have your senses about you. The nurse said in 20 seconds I would be out and of course I was going to battle that and beat that 20 seconds but I only got to 4 and I don't remember anything besides waking up and Rob sitting in the chair next to me. No pain, no discomfort and the nicest nurses and doctors ever. I just know that I missed 10-15 minutes of my life that I don't remember but it was fast so no complaints there.

So as we were driving home I said to Rob, "So what happens if this diet doesn't curtail the pain and infections." I had a hard time taking anything in after the dr said that 2/3rds of my colon is affected. I was in complete shock and really kind of scared. Robs reply was that the doctor said that they would have to remove the 2/3rds. So I asked "Can I live like this, with only 1/3 working?" The doctor said for a time but then I would probably end up with stomach problems because the colon wouldn't have time to process the food so my best option in life at this time is to eat the fruits and veggies and stay away from the other junk in my life otherwise I could be on a bag the rest of my life.

Here is my conclusion right now: God has been working on me spiritually with so many things the last six months and now he is cleansing my body also to get rid of the "JUNK" in my life. I have learned a lot and realized that God is my provider and what is here on this earth is NOT eternal but the hope I have in HIM is eternal and I thank HIM for that. I have grown so much in my faith the last six months and have realized that no one person on this earth can give me the satisifaction that I need besides God. HE is our sustainer as long as we let HIM be!!!! I remember a time when there would be trouble I would run from HIM and say "If you love me why am I going through this" but now I can say I fall to my knees and ask HIM to take me into HIS Holy of Holies.

As I sit here in tears I will keep smiling that Jesus died on the cross for my sin and yours to cover us with HIS amazing love.

Richmond Good Ole Days Parade

We went and supported David Engle in the parade on Sunday afternoon. He is a fireman for Lenox Township and was asked to walk in the parade. The Engle family have became great friends of ours from church and we consider them a major part of our family. David's wife Ruth and I have became great friends and we have had some wonderful times together. Keep up the great marriage that you are both working to strive for!!! Love Ya!!!

Cindy & Terry's 25th Wedding Anniversary

Rob's sister, Cindy and her husband Terry renewed their vows for their 25th anniversary on Sept 6th out at 34 & Romeo Plank at one of their friends house. It was beautiful.

This is their son Kyle and Kyle's son Travis. They all stood up in the renewal.
Kyle, Travis, Nicholas and his son Adien. Nicholas is also their son.
They were hoping that their grandsons would walk with Terry down the walkway but Travis and Aiden didn't want any part of that so Terry had to pick them up and carry them.


Rob and I posing for a picture at the pond in front of the house where they had their renewal at. It was a beautiful place.

Colon Specialist Update

I seen the colon specialist last night and I have a colonoscopy on Sept 23. He wants to wait six weeks after the initial attack before going in. I have a new diet that I am not especially fond of but if it will stop these attacks I will do it. My diet now consists of breads, pasta, rice, chicken, turkey, broths and jellos. That is it. He said my worst enemies are vegetables and fruits at this point until my colon gets healthier and if it ever gets healthy again. That is what the colonoscopy is going to tell whether I will be able to eat normally again.

I was up all night again with pains and the works and sitting on the toilet for hours. I can't imagine that I have to go through this for three more weeks unless bleeding occurs then I am to go straight to the hospital.

Keep smiling!!!!!

Exhausted, Tired and on the road to depression

Well I don't even know where to start besides sometimes life is just a little depressing. I have been job searching for a good month consistently!!!!!! My unemployment runs out in four weeks and I still have nothing lined up. I earned an associates degree in accounting and still cannot find a job in this messed up economy and state and have to start paying on that degree in January. The jobs that are out there are a joke anymore. $8.50 an hour and no benefits to run an office. I mean every aspect of the office...accounts payable, receivable, phones, dispatching, scheduling and the works. Now how does one pay bills plus medical benefits with $8.50 an hour? Sure jobs are not paying what they use to but our bills did not magically disappear.

I am crying out to God right now continually and I just know that HE is going to see me through this otherwise I am going to lose my sanity. I keep trying to think of the positives in life such as my husband and son. If we lost everything except one another it wouldn't matter at this point!! I surely am NOT taking it with me when I go to Heaven. I keep trying to remind myself of what is really important in this life on earth and that is shining the light of JESUS!!!! but sometimes it sure is hard when things aren't going my way...lol!!!!!! So I will wait on the Lord and trust in HIM to bring us through this.

Keep smiling!!!!!!!

Girl's Weekend (Gunn Lake)

Me, Katie McCoy (above), Emilia Czaplicka (below) with Ruth Engle and Shelly Fullum went leisurely down the canal on rafts. When I can't see the bottom I have issues so I really tried being brave but there were so many turtles it really spooked me out. I have a pool at home so that is my kind of rafting not having to worry about who is peeking at you. Some of the turtles were quite big or bigger than I would want them to be...lol.

Above is Haley. She is the first one that pooped out the first night so of course I had to get a pic of that. She did travel all day back from Virginia on her vacation and sat in airports but this is girl's weekend. It don't happen to often and if this old lady can stay up late anyone can.
I am a little out of order here in the pics but "Stivers" is where we stopped to eat on the way out to the lake on the first night. It was a little scary from the outside but some great food.

Unfortunately the boat wouldn't start at one point while out on the lake so we had to get a tow from the other boat in the picture. Dear sweet Shelly is such a handy lady that she is the one that tied the knot to get us back to the cottage.
Above are all of us except Shelly (she is taking the pic)...I should've had someone else take it but sometimes I just don't think of those things. We all went to Craig's Cruisers and ate dinner, played putt-putt and rode go carts. Left front (Ruth Engle, Haley Engle, Joy Engle) Right front (Emilia Czaplicka, Donna Hall, Katie McCoy). There are lots of deer in the area so someone dared me to scare away the deer by screaming out the window on the way back home so of course their request happened. I have the lungs of all lungs.
Above is Joy Engle just chilling out on the boat. Thanks for the use of the cottage, Joy. It will always be remembered and hope that there will be many more years ahead for girl's weekend. It was a hoot!!!!!
Here is me trying to be a brave soul with Turtle Lake...oh it is really called Gunn Lake but Turtle is more appropriate.
Shelly paddled us back down the canal...Thanks Shelly. The next day her muscles were so sore.

The bonds that we made on Saturday night doing an open forum night where we put questions into a bowl and then each of us answered the questions will always be remembered. We laughed, cried, and just listened at times. The connections is definitely what most of us needed at this point in our lives!!!!! I love each of them in a different way but knowing that we are all Sisters in Christ is our main bond and I am excited to strengthen those bonds from here on out.

Keep smiling

Cat Scan Update

My results came back from the catscan and I have to go see a colon specialist on Sept 3rd. I do have some scar tissue that may be causing some blockage and that is what caused my flare up and infection this past week. They are thinking it is from the diverticulitis but just want to make sure that there is nothing else going on. The antiobiotics are doing the job and I am feeling much better so hopefully from here on out I can finish off my summer on the upswing instead of the downswing. I will have a colonoscopy at some point but will not know the date until I see the specialist.

Keep on praying and smiling.

Ohio Pyle, PA

Between the two pictures is some of our small group that decided to go white water rafting in Ohiopyle, PA last weekend. We had a blast!!!! Andrea didn't go rafting with us but she did attend a wedding near this spot while we were rafting.
Rob and I posing for a picture. It isn't to often that I get in pictures because I am usually the one taking them. Thanks Ron Thomas for taking the picture!!! Much appreciated.

Here is the lodge we stayed in. Kind of different but it was clean. It is called Lodge at Chalkhill for anyone that is wondering or wanting to venture to PA to white water raft....Tennessee has better rapids...or at least I think they do. Not as many rocks...lol.
Most of the group rode down on motorcycles minus myself and Bruce and Andrea Spratt.

This is a picture of the area where we started but thank goodness not where we went down. Going out of the raft on a smaller rapid was enough for me. Those pictures are being developed as we speak.

This is a picture off of the deck of the back of the lodge where we stayed. Has a little lake where you can fish and etc...but no time for that. We left on Friday, rafted on Saturday and came home on Sunday. Would've liked to stay in the area a little longer to site see but maybe another time.

It was fun to connect with our group and just get away from every day life.

Ticking Time Bomb

I have been sick off and on since Sunday. Major cramping on Sunday night and all day Monday. By Tuesday night I was running a fever and all the great signs of the flu. Last night my temp spiked up to 102 so today I did a doctor visit. Dr. is hoping it is a flu bug but he hasn't heard of one lasting that long right now. My cramping in my abdomen has been excruciating at times so tomorrow morning I have a cat scan at 11:30 a.m. He is thinking it is possibly an abcest in my colon from my diverticulitis and said if I start fever and etc...again tonight after the shots and pills he gave me that I am to go to emergency right away. I haven't had an attack in a LONG time. Probably 6-7 years.

The downside is that I am suppose to go away this weekend for a girl's weekend and this is really pushing it since we are leaving on Friday sometime. Hopefully by tomorrow or first thing Friday a.m. I will have results back to whether it is my colon or not. If it is my colon then my girl's weekend will have to wait for another time....boohoo!!!!!

So as you see with my concussion a couple weeks ago, emergency root canals, and now this; I am a ticking time bomb and I just want to feel well for awhile.

Keep smiling!!!! and praying!!!!!!

Summer Time Fun

Tomorrow a group of us that are in small groups at our church are leaving to go white water rafting in Pennsylvania. There are eight of us going down and five to six of us riding motorcycles down. I am going to ride for a time but not sure I can withstand that many hours on the back of a motorcycle and the weather is suppose to cool off. If it isn't eighty on the back of a motorcycle I freeze. I LOVE the heat and get cold very easily so I will be joining the Spratt's in their car at times.

My softball injury is pretty much healed up. A little bruising to the touch still but my vision is all back to normal and etc....

I have a job interview on Tuesday (thanks to a friend that pulled some strings for me). It is the first interview I have had since losing my job on April 2nd. I know financially I need to go back to work for the health benefits and etc...but it has been WONDERFUL being a stay at home mom and wife the past four months.

Robert is kinda signed up for college but not having much luck getting classes since we got a late start. Our plan is for him to take 2 classes right now while working at Kroger's but so far he only has one class and is on a waiting list for another.

Looking forward to a girl's weekend away the weekend of the 15th. Haven't done that in a long time. It will be a blast!!!!!!!!

Keep smiling!!!!

Update

Each new day brings a new experience of this concussion. Today I awoke to a black eye. I was kind of surprised but now I know why there was blurriness for a while. The blurriness is subsiding but now I have eye shadow (that I don't wear). My equilibrium gets better as each day passes but it still isn't 100% I feel fatigued if I do anything major.

Tonight the co-ed team plays and Rob said "bring your mitt and shoes." My reply, "your team will have to forfeit because I won't be on the field for awhile." Of course he was joking. I don't think he would let me out there. I think he was just as scared as I was the other day when it happened.



Keep smiling.

Concussion

On Saturday a group of ladies from our church played in a softball tournament. We won the first two games which was a total upset for the other two teams we played against since we haven't beat them all year. We definitely were on a natural high. The first game...my niece Tammi started pitching and then Rob decided to put me in. I don't like pitching against this team (Grace) because they hit so many back up the middle and my reflexes are just not like they use to be. I endured the first two games but unfortunately in the third game I was taken by ambulance to Mt. Clemens General Hospital. I was pitching and Tracy from Grace hit one back at me and unfortunately I must not of seen it till the last minute but luckily I turned my head and was hit in the best spot possible on the side of the forehead. I seen white light and that was about it and it was pretty scary. My head felt luck a big fuzz ball swimming in a world of light. I never passed out but I wanted to but I don't like that feeling of blacking out and waking up not knowing what happened so I talked myself into staying through it. I immediately felt nauseated and my trip in an ambulance that is remembered is throwing up the whole way.

Once at the hospital I went in for a cat scan to make sure there was no fracture or internal bleeding. Two hours later I was back at the games rooting my team on as best as possible. I ended up having a concussion...thank the good Lord for all my wonderful teammates and other teams praying for me. It is minor besides my eye still having blurred vision which they say may take a few days to recover from the blow to the head. I will follow up with my family doctor at the end of the week.

Keep smiling!!!!!!

Robert's graduation party

On July 19th we had Roberts graduation party and here is Robert with two of his friends; Dan and Jason. They are all great boys and they are making lots of memories with cruising Gratiot and etc....Keep making great choices!!!!
Here is one of the cakes that Robert's nanny bought for the party. Thanks Nanny!!!!

Renee and Greg Lathrup. I wish I would've thought about taking the picture of Renee when Greg dropped the water completely on top of her head. She didn't think it to funny and I wouldn't of either. It had rained some during the party and the water set on the top of the tent and Greg went to push the water onto his brother in law; Bruce but instead landed on Renee's head. Her hairdo definitely went flat after that but this picture was before hand.
Here is Robert and Judy Southerland. Judy's son, Levi and Robert have been friends since kindergarten.
Thanks David and Ruth for being the life guards at the pool during the party. The kids really enjoyed it. Thanks for your friendship and always willing to lend a hand. Your service will always be remembered.
Here are some of Robert's friends eating...Dan Haupt, Jason and Dan Barrett. Dan B and Robert just became friends this year and now Dan is off to Grand Valley. Good Luck Dan in all you do.

I know Robert will miss hanging out at Buffalo Wild Wings with you every week.

Here is a group of friends that stopped by also to share in Robert's graduation. Ron Thomas, Mike and April Spring and Rob Shelton.

There were so many others there also and we want to thank everyone for being a part of Robert's life thus far!!! It is great to know that we have so many friends and sisters and brothers in Christ. God Bless each and every one of you!!!!!! Love, The Halls.

Gabby

It has been very hot the last week so I got the little pool out for the dogs and it was the first time that Gabby has been in it and she loved it as you can tell. She rolled in it and would splash around in it just like a little child would. It was so much fun watching her. It is one of the few times that I actually am not scolding her instead because she is always into everything.

Craziness

Just an update into the Hall's crazy life. I deleted the pictures off my camera so don't have any pics to update anyone on. Maybe once I get them back from being developed I can scan some of them.

A couple weeks ago a great friend (Kevin Sanborn) of ours gave us tickets to the Tiger's game and that was the closest I have ever sat to the field and it was a blast. Section 138 Row 6. We could actually see the players faces. Thank You, Kevin!!!!

We then traveled up to Vassar for Pastor Cheri's ordination for a day trip and got to see some wonderful friends of ours that we miss dearly, Pastor Ed and Doreen!!! We will go and visit them one day. I wish we could've spent more time with them but with so many people that they needed to see that just wasn't possible. We traveled back home and then at the end of the week we went up for two nights of camping...well not really camping because we slept in our mini van with an air mattress that lost it's air but it was okay besides it was cold!!!!!

On the way home from Vassar on Saturday, July 5th we met our small group...well some of them in Frankenmuth at Dixie Motor Speedway for "Eve of Destruction." It is always so much fun to watch. They have different races where two cars are hooked up together and the one in the front has an engine and the one in the back has the brakes. Then there are school bus, figure eight races and they will actually crash into one another. We went together last year and decided to go back again this year and it was just as much fun.

This week is getting closer to Robert's graduation party which is on July 19th so we have been doing last minute things around home such as weeding gardens, painting, building a barbecue pit, cleaning garage and etc....Today I did the food shopping and I am cooking for the 250-300 people we are expecting so you can imagine that grocery bill...lol.

Ruth and David Engle came over last night to put together a power point presentation of Robert's life and I can't wait to see it when David finishes it. It will be a keepsake I am sure. Brought tears to my eyes while searching for pics through the years....seems like yesterday that he was born.

Then on top of it all this week I had a toothache so figured I better go into the dentist. So I went in yesterday and I had a cavity in between two teeth. The one tooth they could fill but of course the other one needed a root canal. So they started the root canal last night but couldn't finish because it was more extensive then Dr. Murrel expected so I went back in tonight and after two hours and four shots the root canal was done but no permanent filling in the tooth because he isn't sure the tooth can be saved. I will go back in two weeks to see what the options are after the tooth and the surrounding area heals. I just had a root canal in another tooth a few months ago so my teeth are falling apart fast and the money to get these done is unbelieavable.

When I came home yesterday from the dentist I had this great conversation with Rob about our 25 year anniversary in a few years. His sister and her husband are renewing their vows this year for theirs and I told Rob instead of that I would rather go to Hawaii...lol. His comment was "Your anniversary is your teeth"and how much we have spent on them. Only Rob would say something like that. I was in tears of course and he was joking but it didn't help matters at all.

So that is the crazy life of the Hall's the last couple weeks.

Keep smiling.

Anniversary- 22 years

This past weekend was our 22 year wedding anniversary...WOW!!! We didn't celebrate at all except to do yard work all weekend long. We did take a break to go to two graduation parties for a little bit and then back to work. Bernie Engle, our wonderful friend, let us borrow his bobcat to level out the side yard that needed attention desperately since we have lived here (7 yrs). It was our personal dumping ground and over the winter we had some trees die out and we had to remove them so of course all the cement, asphalt, rock and etc...that we have dumped back there has to be removed because the trees no longer hide it. It is all cleared out back there now and it looks wonderful. All the debris is now sitting in our drive way needing to be dumped so that will be a chore all week. It is a big enough area that we cleared out that we could put our pool over there. We are going to build a barbecue pit over there also once we get all the sod laid. We need 240 yards of sod so it is a pretty big area...more for me to cut...lol but I wanted it to look nice for Roberts' graduation party that is coming upon us sooner than I want at this point. We have so much work we want to get done by then... thank goodness it is going to be outdoors because our house needs so much attention right now and there won't be enough time to get into all of that.

Keep smiling.

Associates Degree

Today I turned in my final paper for my associates degree in accounting. The stress has now eased unbelievably. It felt like this day was never going to come. It took me 21 months to get my associates degree while working full time and homeschooling Robert and now I don't have school, am no longer homeschooling and am barely working. Went from one extreme to the other. Not sure what is going to happen career wise in the near future but God has put some things in place and I am not exactly happy about it but I am going to trust God that it will all work out for good.

Life changes so fast at times that if you blink you could really miss it. It has now been a week since Robert has graduated and that is a HUGE change for me. He is now growing up to be a man and that is heartbreaking for me. I have loved being a mom all these years and stepping back to let him make decisions is so hard but I am doing the best I can at this point and trying to give him words of wisdom instead of making his decisions for him. While he lives at home in our house there are rules that he must follow no matter what.

Keep smiling!!!!!!

Introducing Noah Wink

Our niece, Amy, delivered Noah Wink: 8 lbs 12 oz., 21 inches on May 30th. I have not had the chance to go and see him since he was born on Robert's commencement but please be in prayer for this little one. His grandma (Deb) was at Robert's commencement last night and said that he has been in the nursery at the hospital all day because of fluid on his lungs and then in a couple weeks he has to be taken to Children's Hospital for surgery on his private parts. Not sure of the details but pray that God heals this little one quickly so that his parents and 15 month old brother, Nathan can enjoy this little one. He had red hair also under that little cap so now that makes four red heads in the family: Amy (our niece), both her sons and Robert.

Keep Smiling!!!!!