Meet The Teacher

Last night was so much fun.  Mike and I got to go to my dad's high school football game.  Besides the fact that we did get a babysitter, it was the first time in 8 years that we could go and not have to then drive 3-8 hours back to where we lived.  My dad's team is young and this is his second year at the school so we really were not sure what to expect but it was a great crowd (slightly quiet though) and his team fought hard-they lost but they did not give up.  I know my dad was up all night, I got emails from him at 1:41 and 4:15 AM.  He loves what he does so I know he hates to lose.  I had fun cheering (screaming my head off) and Scotte who was once our "Manny" was there so we enjoyed talking (telling him what to do).  
Poor Mike is still having headaches.  I can not imagine this because I have a headache for an hour and I can not function.  He has had this throbbing, pounding headache now 24 hours a day for 4 weeks.  I think if he could just get a good night sleep it would help him but with the pressure in his head he can not sleep.  
Today we get to go to Makayla's new school and meet her teacher, Mrs. Stewart (as she hopes a lady who is somehow related to Miley Stewart on the Hannah Montana Show).  The cutest thing is I showed her the teachers picture on the schools website, and she said "Well she looks good but not as good as Mrs. Haase" For those of you who don't know Makayla LOVES LOVES LOVES her kindergarden teacher.  I think they will always be connected somehow.  She then proceeded to ask me if Mrs. Stewart knew as much as Mrs. Haase, because Mrs. Haase knows everything, like how to tell time and how to count to 100, how to teach manners, how to cough into her elbow.  I think she is nervous for her new school but I know she is excited to meet some friends and start learning all the fun things 1st graders learn (still can NOT believe she is going to 1st grade).  


"Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom"  Luke 12:32


Tonight Mike is speaking at Half-Time of the Gridiron Classic.  It is exciting because it is a game between two public high schools and they want him to share his faith :)  

Walking

The dreaded work-out room in my basement has been quietly calling my name.   Yesterday, I finally could not ignore it anymore (it might have been the chicken salad and chicken enchiladas ).  I decided to exercise or at least walk on the treadmill.   After the electrical socket regained conscience after being used, the treadmill started (I was hoping it was broken but realized dust does not break a machine).  What some of you call relaxing and fun, I think of more as torture and cruelty.  In my teenage years and volleyball days, I didn't mind the occasional visit to the gym but since 2000 me and exercise do not mesh.  I guess one decade is long enough so I will start again (unless of course my metabolism returns then I will go back to normal-which by the way if you see my metabolism anywhere please send it back).
Mike visited yet another neurologist yesterday.  They have decided to keep him on just two pills a day (i can live with that) and check back with him in a month.  They think his headaches and nausea could last up to 4 more months.  After going back through his history they found he had 7 documented concussions since 1999.  This Doctor told him if he had not already been told, there is no way he could risk playing again.  Mike felt good to know more than one doctor felt the same way.

So Jesus said to them, "For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. "While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light."  John 12:35-36

Headaches

Mike is home :)  Yay for me!!!  I was up for the challenge of "single" parenting this season but when the news came that Mike would get to come home and stay,  I was jumping up and down with joy!  Now if only his headaches would go away.   We met Friday with the Columbus Blue Jackets team Doctor.  He was wonderful and seemed like he would be able to help Mike find relief.  He is sending him to a neurologist on Monday for more testing and scans.  His nausea is also very bothersome but most concerning to me is his short term memory loss.
Mike or I either one are big "pill" poppers.  I especially am against tylenol (or similar) because I have always felt once you start popping those pills you have to keep taking them every time you get an ache or a pain (now I won't lie, in my old age Midol has become like a friend to me).  You should see the drugs in our house right now-I think Lindsay Lohan is requesting to stop by here on her way home from Rehab to fill up :)  It makes me laugh that most of the Doctors Mike has seen wanted to fill him with so many drugs that his symptoms would be masked not cured.

Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.  Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.  Colossians 3:18-19


Saturday now becomes only known as the "day after high school football".  Last night we all went to my dad's scrimmage.  It was so fun to be there as a family.  I told Makayla next year she can be the water girl (after me explaining for 10 minutes what a water girl was and that I was the water girl for Papa's team when I was her age) and she had one question "Can the water girl wear pink"

Thank You!!!

Over the last couple of days, I have received a tremendous amount of emails, texts, notes, and phone calls (I would say voice mails but I purposefully have no voice mail-sorry I know that frustrates some of my friends).  I realized I have an awesome support network, just another of the many blessings I have in my life.  In the realm of the world, never playing football again seems minor, in the realm of Mike's world, it is major.  I think we both assumed he would be done, but just maybe if he wanted to he could go back, next year, in two years, maybe like Brett Favre when he is a grandpa :)  But when the Doctors told him he could never play again, those words hit him hard.  Football has been more than a job to him.  From 1992 until now it has been his morning, noon, and night (I guess I have him beat b/c my love affair with football started at birth when my dad brought his team into the nursery to stare at me-but wait I was born very close to 1992 so it's even).  And when we look back at all the joy football has brought into our lives, we feel so lucky to get 8 seasons in the NFL-Mike had an amazing journey and I just know what is coming next, is even more amazing.  
So this morning, after Stone drilled me with a stuffed dog on the side of the head, I woke up very thankful for many things but today I feel most thankful for my friends.  I hope now, I can be an even better friend (hopefully one whose address won't change twice a year).

"My command is this:  Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."  John 15:12-13

Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!

The Waiting Game...

I have no idea if anyone is even reading this but I have learned that writing is a great therapy for me.   Now if only I could strike a book deal or something then all my countless minutes would pay off :)  I am considering stalking celebrities and giving Perez Hilton a run for his money but then I remember I now live in Plain City, Ohio (incase you have never been to Plain City OH they didn't make a mistake when they named it).  I must say though that I am so happy to have a sense of home.  Life in the NFL is one of many things but stability is not one of them.  At any given phone call you can be uprooted and transplanted someplace else (or you can wake up and read about how your husband lost his job in the paper and then proceed to move).  Someone our first year told me to always keep a bag packed.  At the time I thought how silly, after year three I always had two bags packed :)
This season before Mike was even injured we had decided I would stay in Ohio with the kids.   Makayla is starting first grade (not sure if first grade is ready for her but she is ready for it) and she needs some sort of stability.  And the major bonus for me is my parents are next door.  I can say with 100% satisfaction that I am certain I was meant to live next door to my parents (I would choose in the same house but my dad only watches Andy Griffith and I think that would drive us all crazy).   So anyways, this year for me was going to be all about FAMILY.  Little did I imagine Mike would get injured and then find out today that he can not play football anymore.  I have now realized it's not by chance we made the decision to keep me and the kids in Ohio.   As we prayed about it and prayed for a clear answer, God gave us one.  Always listen to those answers, even when they are not what you want.

You Shall eat the fruit of the labour of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you.
Psalm 128:2

So today, tomorrow, whenever you can, pray for Mike :)   Whenever someone else makes decisions for us, they are harder to swallow than if we decided on our own.

FAITH

This morning it is extra hard for me to get going.   I am going to a burial service for a precious 7 year old.  It sickens and saddens me to think that such a young life was taken.  At the same time I am amazed at how many lives she touched.  I am positive she brought many to know God during her short time here on Earth.  I know she is in a better place because the Cancer can't get her anymore but I am so sad for her family.   I wish I could do something for them but the only thing they want is their daughter back.  
Mike is back to the Amen Clinic today for his 2nd scan.  Tomorrow he meets again with the team Dr's.   Hoping to have some answers this week.

He said to the woman, "Your Faith has saved you.  Go in peace".  Luke 7:50

Today I will hug my kids a little tighter, let them be a little louder, and I will enjoy them a little more.

AMEN

God works in wondrous ways.  A friend that Mike played with, whom also had concussion related brain issues, suggested we explore some testing at the Amen Clinic in California.  His wife sent me some contact information and I began to explore their website.  The entire time I was reading about what this Dr. and clinic can do I was trying to figure out how I would get Mike to agree to fly to California.  For those of you that do not know, flying is NOT our favorite thing to do.   It has been so bad before that we purchased a new car in FL during a connection and drove all the way back to Michigan just so we did not have to get back on the plane.  After clicking every link on the Amen Clinic website I realized they had two locations, the second was Reston VA.  I immediately went to my best friend, Google, and realized our hotel was less than 10 miles away from that location.  I quickly emailed the Dr. and within a half hour we were at the Clinic and Mike was getting scanned.  He goes back Monday for the 2nd of the exam and hopefully results will soon follow.  What are the chances that a Dr., whose last name just happens to be Amen, would have offices in California and Reston, VA?  Seems pretty slim to me....

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work; If one falls down, his friend can help him up.  But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Thank you friends for all of your prayers and encouraging words!!!
www.amenclinics.com

Brain Brain Go Away...

After spending the day at the Brain and Spinal Hospital in Baltimore, MD I realized many things.   One; sometimes the doctors we choose and trust have their own agendas (it is unfortunate bc there are so many wonderful doctors but like any profession there are a few rotten ones), two; even the "Best" doctors do not know enough about the brain-it is a medical mystery, three; my children are not old enough to go inside the Brain and Spinal Hospital in Baltimore, MD :)
Mike is still having the same symptoms.   It is very scary stuff.  A big issue for me right now is returning him to "normal" health.  The big issue for every doctor we see is returning him to the football field.   This is beyond frustrating.  If there was ever a woman (or young lady as I prefer) that LOVES football, it is I.  I grew up with a pigskin in one hand and a clip board full of plays in the other.  I can read a play book, call a defense and even yell at the TV with the best of them.  I never dreamed that I would discourage a return to the game to anyone, but my time has come.

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD.  "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. "  Jeremiah 29:11

Is it possible that a TRAIN ran me over while I was sleeping?

This morning I am struggling.   I just want to go back to bed and sleep (as Makayla is still doing) but my boys have other plans for me.   Stone is going to be the person at a sleepover that when he wakes up, so does everyone else.   I have tried to convince him that when he gets up and everyone else is still asleep he can crawl into bed with me, I guess I forgot that crawling into bed for him means, bringing every stuffed animal he owns, hitting me in the head with them one at a time as he chucks them in my bed, waking Kanon up to tell him he is about to get in my bed, turning the TV on and volume up, and then asking me loudly what is for breakfast.  Even in my tired stupor these are some of my best moments with him.  Before  I go any further it is imperative that you know Stone is my "one" that tests me a little bit more and then loves me a little bit more.   He is also the one of my three that can NOT do anything by himself.  His LOVE LANGUAGE is definitely praise because when he does something bad or good he wants EVERYONE to see it and comment on it.  So even though I am super tired, I am beyond thankful that God chose me to be his mom (and that my hair isn't gray yet).   
Today we are driving to Baltimore for another opinion on Mike's brain.  He is still dealing with horrible headaches and his short term memory is not right.  I guess the only positive in this is that by coincidence the NFL media has decided this is the summer to shed light on concussions and the effects.  With that being said everyone involved has been going the extra step to ensure this is handled properly.  Dan Rather did a show last night on hd.net and Real Sports with Bryant Gumble will also talk about concussions in the NFL on Aug. 17.  


Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. – Matthew 11:28-30


The BIBLE is the only place to find real "sleep" :)  

Take Two of These and Call Me in the Morning...

Again, this morning my boy Kanon wants to hang out at 6:AM.   He really doesn't want to play with me though he uses me to reach his football guys way up high and then he says "Go Mom, Me play football".  I guess this is preparing me for what's to come, right.  When I am the dorky mom in the pick-up line, still in my PJ's, listening to the wrong station, waving and honking when I drop them off for Middle School, and I know they hear me but they pretend not to.   I see that glimpse into my future every once and awhile.  
So Mike is still fighting nausea and having headaches.   They gave him some pills to take last night but I think that's like putting a band-aid on something that needs stitches-unless fixed properly it will never heal. So I worry and I worry.   And the kids, well they continue to keep me on my toes.  As badly as I wanted to watch the Bachelor Pad last night (I know I should go to therapy for that addiction b/c I swear it sucks me in every time) Makayla wanted to dress-up like Glenda the "Good Witch" and I was the "Wicked Witch of the East".   Still trying to determine if that should offend me, I was thinking I would be Auntie Em or Dorothy but no, she said I am more like the Wicked Witch of the East.   Hoping today a house doesn't land on top of me.   


Ezek 16:44
"Everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you: "Like mother, like daughter."


And this is my hope, that I am exactly like Makayla b/c there is no sweeter thing to be.  

When you can't sleep, well you can sleep but your kids can't...

So this is day three of hotel living for us.   Mike, my husband, is in training camp for the Washington Redskins.   Last week he got hit hard enough to give him his 5th concussion (2nd bad one in two years).  It was very scary for a bit-he was throwing up repeatedly and was very sick.   They have that part of it under control now but he is still having horrible headaches.   Makes me wonder why I LOVE this sport so much but I do and I will continue to LOVE it, I just might cringe next time my husband goes across the middle.   The jury is still out on if I will let Stone and Kanon play someday (I am sure I will but right now I am totally against it)-I am hoping for now they aspire to play tennis or maybe bocci ball but nothing contact.   So we, well wait, (there was no we it was totally an I) loaded up our kids, 1 of our dogs and my mom to drive to VA to be with Mike.  After 6 hours and 45 minutes of pure bliss (how much longer, change the movie, we already watched that movie, it's my turn to pick the movie, when are we eating, why do I never get to buy toys at the gas station) we arrived at our hotel.  Since then it has seemed as if the hotel gets smaller everyday, the front desk has assured me it's the same size as when we checked in but I swear the walls are moving inward.   Last night the room below us called the Front Desk to complain about us-it was shocking since the boys were jumping up and down non-stop and Makayla was putting on a concert with her best Jonas LA voice.   This morning Kanon wanted to get up at 5:45 and hang-out.   Now as I type this is the exact conversation I hear "You stink" Stone yells, "NO you stink," Makayla says, "Butt" Stone says to which Makayla gives her best "Mom Stone said BUT"
And this is how I get to Daniel 4:36

At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before.


Now if only my advisers and nobles would find me :)