Grandpa Bowen

I just got and update on my grandfather from my Aunt, he is not doing well and they do not expect him to live much longer. He has been taken of all med except pain meds (per his request) and he has not been eating now for a few days. Please pray for my family as i beleive this is going to be a rough holiday season.

Moving Day!

Finally decided on a moving day. I'll be driving down - caravanning with dad - on Saturday with all of my stuff...

Mom's own Blog Account

Hi all,
Mom has her own account and can do her own blogs now...
Thank you Toni (administrator) and Bobby for persuing and getting me online.
Love ya,
Mom, Gramma
Will write more tomorrow...

2010 11 28 Mom's Blog

Well, Thanksgiving is over and the turkey carcus is reduced to stock.
Had 20 invited for dinner but ended up with only 15, I was glad and so were Dad and Jeff. Jeff did nearly all the cooking and Dad did the floors.Lindsey came over at 7am and worked with Jeff all day. Then when Karen got here at 2pm she jumped in and helped. All in All the day ANDFOOD turned out great Now if the family mainly Jeff Bob and Toni can teach me how to play with this machine we will all be happy. Next will be down with the fall decorations and up with the Christmas.Louisa will be in next week for some training,will be fun to have her here.
love you all, til later

red bluff trip

We made it to Red Bluff and back safe. The weather about had us stopped. Had to make a judgment call at the last min and hope my info was right and we got abit lucky. Wheather closed in and there was snow over the mountains going to Calif. We got there between the storms. sunday it was very bad and sunday we had a break in the wheather again. Monday it closed in again. Coming back there was about 10 in. of snow in the mount shasta area. But over the the pass was only about 2 in and melting fast. We had a great time.

PS

I plan on giving some pics of our trip to Toni so she can post them on here. Oh wait Toni you can pull them off my Facebook. :P

Life in Tok

Well I have not posted in ages mainly because I forgot how to sign in and make a post. Anyways in August the kids and I went to see my dad, it was a great visit and I know the kids had a wonderful time. We picked alot of black berrys and took the kids to a family fun place. The kids and us went to the Rogue River and they played in the creek by my dads house every day( even my dad got in on the fun, there are pictures on facebook). Every day we where there I watched my dad get better and better. It was nice to watch him heal and get stronger, God placed his hand on my dad that day in the store ( but i bet that 2X4 hurt) and I thank him every day for not taking my dad from me. On a sad note our long time family cat died the day before I got there however she was very old and I am sure she is kitty heaven. Kathy and my dad let us help them pick out a new cat which meant alot to me ( thank you). We are looking forward to spending more time with my dad and Kathy in the near future.
When we got back fall had set in and it was time to go hunting. This year we came up empty handed however Caribou season is still open and we hope to get a couple ( Trinity can now get her own tag sense she passed her henters ed course).
We are now getting ready for the holidays. I am going to do the black friday shopping again, this year in Fairbanks with a girl friend then off to Achorage for the Chrismas holiday. My mom is flying in so we will spend Chrismas with the grandparents and my mom will come back to Tok with us for a bit.
Trinity is playing hockey again, this year she is going to be goalie and Demitri has decided he wants to play ( talking about an expensive sport). Work is going well for however there has been some changes they are moving me out of my current posstion to become a CSR ( customer service rep) although this is not a move I would have wanted a year ago I think I am ready for this move now. My company is trying to train me in this field so in about five years when the current CSR manager retires I will move to her postion. If I stay in my old position the chances of me climbing the latter is slim so this is going to be a good move for me in the long run. At this time Jim is still work which is great usualy he is layed off by the end of October.
Well I think I have wrote a book of my life for the last few months so I should probably get going, I love every one so much and I will talk to you guys later.

bored

Well, I'm sitting at home for another day wishing I were working. Oh well. Won't be much longer. I have the go ahead for work starting the 26 Nov. WooHoooo. There was a possiblity that I'd be out till the end of Dec. I would realy hate that. The doctor wanted me to have a 25 lb lift limit on the left side. Work wouldn't let me back with any kind of restrictions at all. I promssed the doctor that I would keep it under 25 lb and he gave me the release for work. Summer wasn' t to bad because i could keep busy outside. But then that might have been the undoing on my 1st surgury from doing to much.
We are trying again for financing for the spring to replace the house we are in with a new manufactured home.
We are going down to Red Bluff this weekend to Kathy's sons house for a visit. Taking advantage of my time off. Once back to work that kind of oportunity will be rare. Thanks giving will be the usualy, just kathy, her mother and myself. Christmas will more likely be the same.
All for now
Bob

Just a little update

I'm currently at teh Walt Disney World Resort getting ready to jump in the shower, though am watching First Baptist Orlando on TV as it's Sunday.

Anyway just wanted to pop in and inform the fam and anyone else who reads that I will be moving back to the Kenai Peninsula when I get home from my trip with Erin. It's a triplex and I have it leased for just under a year. It's on the Kenai River, in Soldotna just up from Centennial Park. I'm excited and nervous all at the same time.

I will update later, but I am up and at 'em for another day in the parks. You can read our blog updates from this trip here - http://originaldorktwins.blogspot.com

I"m home

WooooHoooooo
I'm home. Had a shower and I'm' soo comfortable. Stopped by the store and told them everything including that I can't do anything, basically, with the left arm for 2 weeks. and 2 more weeks after that no more than 5 pounds on the left arm. Also was told that no heavy work at that time and slowly over 3 months build into it. After 3 months I'll be good to go for what ever i can handle. I really liked the surgeon. He ended up replacing the leads to the pacemaker.
I feel really good. Mild pain from the surgery. energy and such is great. It will be very hard to stay down for 2 weeks and very light work on the left side for another 2 weeks.
I love you all

all done

Made it through the surgery with flying colors. I haven't seen the doctor, will probly be in the morning. But I should be able to go home tomarrow. Pace maker is working and I'm feeling great. I'll post more tomarrow.
Bob

I saw the surgeon about 1PM and he says that he's trying for 8am surgery. I had an appointment with him anyway at 9am. so he's going to try to squeeze me in between 8 -9. depends if there's nothing else more pressing going on when he gets into the office Monday morning. I really hope it works. otherwise it will be another day wait. Having a really hard time getting rest. I have a room mate that is very vocal and between him and the hospital staff my normal day time sleep pattern isn't happening. I'll ask for a sleepy pill for tonight so I get rest before surgery in the morning. hopefully.
Kathy, her mother and a good friend that drove up from Grants Pass, Stopped in and visited for about 3 hours today. That was very nice. Our friend Steve will take my car back home so we don't have to worry about it being here for a couple weeks.

Well all for now.
bob

Hi everyone:

Well I'm in the hospital again, sigh. But this time it's not nearly as serious as last time. Three days ago the did a test on my pace maker and found out that one of the leads in my heart has moved and Friday the did a chest ex ray just to confirm what the puter teck. found. They also set up and appointment with the surgeon for 9 am Monday and I was told that I'd probably have surgery some time next week. Friday night was abit stressful at work and i noticed allot of weird stuff happening with my heart. missed beats( PVC's) extra beats. that I've never had before. Weakness short of breath. but I got through the night and closed the store just fine.
I woke up up the next morning feeling a muscle spasm on my right side that I've never had before. It wasn't often but as the day went on it got more common and stronger. I also noticed the my heart was acting up more. I went to work anyway. shortly after i got there and the more active I got I was really getting uncomfortable. And finally after 2 hrs I told the day manager before he went home that I felt that i should go home. I called Kathy and she talked me into going to the hospital in medford sense it would be only a short drive.
They checked me out and confirmed that my heart was beating any where from 42 - 80 beats per min. One male nurse said it's like a ping pong ball bouncing around in there. They called in a Teck for my pace maker. Took another Chest ex ray. Found out that Both leads had pulled out of position and one has actually pulled clear out of the heart. The muscle spasm i was feeling was the lead shocking chest muscle instead of heart. They turned of the pace maker.
The surgeons assistant showed up and told me what was happening. said that surgery is moved up to Sunday or Monday. and i was told that I could go home and rest. The chances of a V fib life threatening situation was remote. or I Could stay in the hospital and wait till the surgery. I knew that Kathy would be extremly worried if I were at home and admitted to me that she would rather me stay here where i was safe. I feel better about it also.
After the surgery I 'll be able to go home the next day. 2 weeks off work and another light duty. So here I sit. I found a computer that patients and family can use. It's 4:20 Am . Couldn't sleep. I'm used to night working anyway. Don't normally get into bed till about 2 or 3. But I try ed to sleep but only slept for about an hour and just lay ed there. Was very happy to find this puter. Nothing else to do so I'll be keeping you all very well informed as to whats happening to me

All for now.
love you all

my summer

Hi everyone:
Sorry about not updating the blog from my end.
My recovery had gone very well. I went back to work on Aug. 29th. Actually a month early from what the surgeon had recommended. Although I didn't know about that until I had been back to work for 2 weeks when I received the hospital records from my visit there. I even got back into night closing management about Sept 25th. and at that time full time whereas before that i was working on reduced hours.
So going back. I ended up back in the hospital about the 15th of July. Seems that the medication that I was put on was to much for my needs and body. I passed out at home and when I woke up I drove myself to the hospital. My kiddinies were shutting down and blood work was all messed up. Spent 2 days there and sense then things have been going very well and every week I feel stronger. Although the last few weeks it not as nearly as noticeable as it was.
All the doctors and nursing staff are amazed at my surviving it. And more important that I have no permanent damage. Brain damage from that kind of thing is almost 100% for that kind of thing. Including being nearly brain dead.
July was very hard for me. I had allot of very down days where i thought I was never going to recover and i only had a matter of days or months left. But as time went on and went into August. I started feeling better and more positive.
Louisa and the kids came down the 2nd week of Aug for 10 days. We had an absolutely wonderful time. And by the time they left My attitude about my future was complete positive .
That visit was the greatest thing that could have happened for me at the perfect time.
Thank you soo much my daughter.
We even have been out dancing, and went to the medford Jazz festival. We had a great time at both.
I had my heart checked out by a sonogram. like they do for pregnant mothers. And the teck that did it gave me a pre evaluation that I'm recovering and she saw better than 15 - 20 % heart efficiency. her guess was 25 - 35 % Great news. My cardiologist appointment is tomorrow. Thur. and i'll get the official news.
Through all this, my wife and best Friend has been wonderful. I couldn't ask for more from her.
Well all for now
love you all and miss you
Bob and Kathy

Fall is comin'!

Wow, we haven't posted anything in here since July. Bad Reitters!

Nothing much to report on my front, been going non stop on trips and work. Which is now dwindling. So I am going back to trying to make money with photography.

Other than that, pretty much same ol same ol!

A 2nd chance

Hi everyone;
Well that was about as close as it gets. Staff at the hospital told Kathy that, that kind of attack, location it happened only had about 1 chance out of 100 to survive. Less than that without serious after effects. Like brain damage. ( What brain damage i have didn't come from this lol). At least nothing that is evident.
Just plain amazing. Really the only reason I'm alive is that God wasn't ready to take me yet and he put an EMT in the store. in like at the movie rental. It was him that god used as his servant to save me. The store has 22 min of camera film of what happened. from the 1st time I grabbed my Chest (I did it twice). till the time they were going out the door with my on a gurney with an EMT on top of me working on me.
That night after Kathy got to the hospital, she was told to plan for the worst. First night was was put into a coma and on life support. At 1030. an hour after Kathy got there, she was told to go home and rest. Nothing would happen till the next day when they tool me out of coma and see what happens. I breathed on my own and vitals were good. So they monitored me all that day. and the 3rd they put die into my Groin to my heart. Arteries. were clear. So planes were made to put a Defibrillator in the following day. It was put in the morning of the 4th and i was moved to recovery. After that when i woke up it my 1st memory. I had several visitors. memory of them very fuzzy. 5 th day i was told that by afternoon, if I were improving like i was that would get to go home. And that is what happened.
Been home 3 days and I'm getting stronger every day. Hardest or most painful part is the pain from the several broken ribs I got during CPR. I have junk in my lungs from that and other things they did and it builds up and i have to forcefully cough it up. Very painful. At night I take pain pill to help me sleep and cough easier when it wakes me up. During the day. I Tough it out. Mostly because I'm afraid of running out for the night time before my lungs clear up. When i Cough, it's like the ribs are being broken over again.
Spent 2 hours setting outside next to a fence we have paining. Then We took a walk to the creek. It took everything else I had to make it there and back. 95 deg. heat didn't' help.
going to relax the rest of the day.
Bob

Update on my DAD

Update on my dad is he had the pace maker put in today and they are hoping to release him from the hospital Thursday. I have been giving thank to God every day that He did not take my dad and that he has given him another chance to change things in his life. I love my Dad very much and I am not ready to lose him. Th...ank you for the many prayers he has a lot of healing and many more struggles to come.

My DAD

Please pray for my Dad Saturday night he had a massive heart attack and needed to be revived. He is in the hospitial and they have ran some test. The Heart attack was due to him having a very weak heart. They will be putting a pace maker in some time the next few days. The doctors said most people do not survive the kind of heart attack he had.

Wow it's quiet.

Hope everyone is having a fantastic summer. I have been working pretty much non-stop since June, so I haven't been around much. Getting ready for the Fourth - I will actually get to be home for it this year! First time in four years I'm not working on Independence Day! - and travelling to Kenai.

Going to be in Fairbanks the last FULL weekend of July, mom and I are headed up there for a mini road trip and, surprisingly, this will be the first trip for both of us! I'm super excited.

Other than that not much to report!

New mini-update.

just got an update from my mom a little while ago:

"daddy talked to grampa a while ago and he said the doctor told him he removed the tumor (which was cancerous) and checked all the lymph nodes...no sign of any markers in the nodes, so the oncologist is coming in tomorrow and they will probably put her on some oral chemo to make sure to get any cells that might be floating around...they've been having her do all her physical therapy and he's taking her walker up to the hospital tomorrow...she's still using the morphine, but other than that, seems to be doing better."

Another update on g'ma

Mom just sent me a note saying dad talked to g'pa and there's nothing really new to report. The pathology report on teh tumor came back confirming it was cancerous, g'ma's on a morphine pump so she's in and out of it (mainly out of it).

Update on Gma

gma came out of surgery okay. they found a tumor, won't know for sure if it's cancerous until at teh earliest tomorrow but the doctor said from looking at it that it was a cancerous tumor... not sure what that means for recovery and the like.

gma was really doped up when I saw her. took gpa out to dinner while we waited for her to get out of recovery and into a room... she's in room 438.

Another update on G'Ma

Talked to G'Pa about fifteen minutes ago. G'ma will be going in for surgery tomorrow morning. He is a little confused about what they will be doing, but he believes they're going to be removing part of her colon as well as putting in a coloscopy (spelling?) bag.

For anyone wanting to call or visit shes in Providence room #291

Louisa - he apologises for not getting in touch with you. He was at the hospital all day yesterday, and didn't get home until late.

Mom; Providence, another visit... guess she likes it there ;o)

Hello all.
Yesterday, Dad took Mom up to the Hospital. Mom had not been able to hold down dinner Saturday night (Footlong Subway split with Dad - Toni's Christmas Giftcard to G'Pa). Sunday morning; around 8:30am I woke to Mom paging me with the intercom. She had a restless night and could not get here stomach to settle down. I helped her get some things taken care of and she said not to worry about the moaning from her, that she was just going to try to get a little more sleep. After getting Mom situated back in bed and letting her have a little more then an hour to fall asleep, I asked her if she felt any better. She said she felt worse. I suggested that we go to the Hospital to see what was up; I called Dad and and left a message on his phone. And Mom called Doctor and went thru the prompts until she could leave a message and did the same with Doc's home phone. It was about 10:30am when we decided to get ready and to go to the hospital. We were getting Mom's last sock and shoe on when Dad drove in the driveway. Shortly after that, and Dad tood Mom up to the ER.
Dad called a couple of times, the first call, around noon '???', there was nothing to report, but that they were doing tests and had not ruled out anything but were working on confirming their suspisions. The second call Dad had more to report: Mom's upper tract was ok, but her lower tract had seemed to be 'asleep' and she had Kidney infection. Antibiotics were given for the kidney problem and they were going to keep her overnight for observation, and further tests/procedures to check for possible cancer in the lower tract Monday. Dad said Diverticulytus (sp) was mentioned and she needs more fiber.
So... here we are Monday morning, 8:35am. Dad says they will wait for the antibiotics to do their job before they perform a colonostopy (sp) to check the state of Mom's lower tract.
Dad will call with an update tonight after he finds out what is going on today.
I will try to get the update from Dad and add it to the Alaskan Reitter's tonight.
As always, I'm sure Mom is not wanting to cause any worries for anyone; but I know she appreciates all your prays.
L8r
Jeff

Grandma's in the hospital... again.

Don't have much info, Jeff should probably log on and fill us all in, but he wasn't very helpful tonight anyway, what with his not understanding medical terms and what have you.

Anyway from what I gather it's something to do with her kidney's and 'cancer' was used. That's all I know. Will try to figure it out tomorrow.

Keep her in your prayers.

From Tok

Well spring has came to Tok, things are starting to melt but of course mother nature has to put the last word in so today it snowed a bit. I have started my collage classes and man did I forget what it was like having home work. We got a new pet and I am sure most of my family will not like it but she is a very sweet SNAKE. Nesse is a Red Tail Boa and for everyone who did know this is not the first time we have had one when Jim and I where dating he had a snake he got in the army unfortunately he died. The kids love her and she is a blast to have around. We got her due to a military family not being able to cross the border with her. FWI she is in a locked tank when we are not holding her. Work is going well and now that summer is around the corner we are starting to get very busy. My ankle is doing well however some time with in the year I will have to have surgery on my knee as I tore some cartilage in it and I have bone on bone rubbing when I walk. Well it is time for bed, we love you all.

My turn! My turn!

Not a whole lot to update you all on in my life. Last weekend I said good bye to a very close family friend of ours in Kenai who went home to be with his Savior not too long ago. It was emotional but I was very honored to know him and to be asked to be a part of the service (I did a slideshow). It still feels surreal to think of Mr. Mickey not being with us, but we'll seem him again someday and that makes it all worth it.

Other than that it's pretty much been work and church and home. Judy and Gaylord are in the process of remodelling the inside of the house so I've been stearing clear as much as possible, which was easy this month as I volunteered at teh Iditarod sales table in the Millenium Hotel - which becomes the Official Iditarod Headquarters each February and March. It was so much fun and I am definitely hooked, wherever I end up job or school wise next year I hope I can continue to participate. I have definitely "caught the bug," guess it's in the genes!

I've also had a few photo shoots over the last couple of months, which is great considering that's what I actually want to do with my life. Last weekend I shot one of my best friend's little girl and she was SO STINKIN CUTE! I am totally smitten with that little bit and can't wait for summer with the lupin and fireweed in bloom to take some portraits OUTDOORS!

Also working hard with the Census Bureau. Bureau business is booming at the moment and I really hope that my entire family participated and sent in their census form. In the long run taking the ten minutes to fill it out and send it back saves the nation thousands upon thousands of dollars as if you don't you WILL get a visit from an enumerator, and in Alaska they get $25 an hour to do what they do. So think about it, the more problems we encounter the more it adds up!

Anyway work is insanely busy as you can imagine and I feel like I'm nearly drowning. Office drama abounds everywhere and this is my first real taste of it and I can't say I enjoy it. I guess we never get away from the drama of high school! haha! But over all it's good and each paycheck a lot of it gets saved not just for my future Disney trips (one this November and one next February) but for other things that I need (photo business wise, and eventually I'm GOING to move out on my own.)

So, yeah, that's pretty much it. I'm exhausted as I moved out all of the furnature and crap in my room last night (carpet guys are putting in new carpet as I type this so I'm sitting out in Judy's motorhome. Yay for wireless internet!) and I didn't get to bed until almost 2, and then had to be back up at 7:30 to be ready for the carpet dudes. I tried napping but that fell through as well. So I am a grumpy gus!

anywho, hope all is well with the rest of the family. It's fun reading about what's going on. If mom and dad ever get on this dang thing it'll really be a party!

I will leave you with one of my favorite photos from my last photoshoot. enjoy.

20100321 sunday; mom's update

Dad just returned from church and Jeff is forcing me to update my blog even though I don't feel like anything new has happened. But this morning when Jeff was helping me get ready for the day, he told me to lift my left leg to transfer my position and 'I did', the first time in 4 months my leg has responded. This was a 'pick up and place' motion, not the 'lift and swing' movement that I have been working on in therapy prepring to be able to walk the past 2 months. The exersises I have been doing the last few days at home and in therapy at the clinic have been very beneficial. Now if i can get my left arm and hand to continue to do more of the same i will be even happier.
Had a nice long visit with Robert (and Kat) over the phone this morning, it was great to get caught up with the Oregon Reitters and hearing their plans for their planned new house and their preparations for the summer.
Iditarod went great this year. Jeff and Alan picked me up bodily and lifted me into the Motorhome so I could be there at the Tudor Crossing, as I have been in past years. Dad prepared the large pots of Iditarod Ham & Beans this year for all the volunteers (about 25 people). Kudos to Toni, for all the help and labor working with Grandpa on coordinating the Tudor crossing volunteers. What a nice break and help she was. It sure was a blessing having all the Alaska Reitters together working on the Cerrimonial Iditarod Sleddog Race Start.
Starting to look forward to Spring, the weather has been quite pleasant; that's about all for now... Will update blog when more to tell.
Love to everybody,
Mom.

Tok

Well a have had a bit of a schooling change I am going to attend Grand Canyon University This is a christian college and I will be doing BA in Communications. I am allready enrolled just waiting on my financial aid. Trinity had the flu this weekend and now I am home sick with it Uggg. The kids are on spring break and the weather has been warm so they have been realy enjoying the outdoors. Well enough fo now my tummy is getting upset again:(

Louisa

From Tok

Well Trinity is now done with hockey for the year, I think she is going to try goalie next year.
I am apply for financial aid so I can get my AA in accounting. The college that I am probably going to attend is the University of Pheonix, they have a really nice online program. My degree will be Associate of Arts with a concentration in Accounting. Wish me luck its been a while sense I have been in school:) Jim should be going back to work soon (I hope). The weather has been very nice spring is coming:) We are about two weeks from owning our property which is great.
Well talk to everyone later. Love you all.
Louisa

Checking in

Hi guys;
Not much new going on here. We are still proceeding ahead with new home figures. Even though I don't think we are ready financially speaking. We'll probably need to to work on paying down the existing Principal and try it again next year.
Work is going good. A guy in Grocery went out for surgery. And will be out of work for at least 4 months. He is our closer for grocery 5 nights a week and they moved me into grocery temporarily to fill his place. It's a good thing that they have confidence in me to use me like that. Other people that have been used in the fashion, usually got considered for better positions.
Spring is on the way. Going to start putting garden in this weekend if weather isn't to bad.
All for now
Bob

Iditarod 38

The Reitters were out in pretty near full force for the Ceremonial Start of the 38th Iditarod! Here are just a few photos of what we were a part of.


Grandma and Willie recooping while taking in Saturday's event.


Dan Seavey once again rode as the ceremonial first musher.


Alan has caught the volunteer bug now, he's already talking about next year!


Jeff runs up the trail to help Alan & the musher get the sled and team back on track.


Duane waiting for the next team to come through

more to come as I get them editted and sorted.

Oregon Reitters

Hi :)
Not much going on here. Have a off and on sore throught going on sence the cold i got 2 months ago.
As for work. One of the guys in grocery wen't out for surgry and i'm being moved back into grocery to close. Will be 5 nights closing. 3 pm till 11;30 pm . Monday - friday. I'll have weekends off and that's a plus. Originaly they had me at 35 hrs for the 1st week. And that was the average hrs that the possion normaly had. I got them to change it to my normal 40 hrs per week.
Spring is on the way.
Stock market is moving up slightly and that's a good indicator.


Well, all for now.
With Love
Bob

oregon Reitters

Wow. Hi Mom, this is great.
Now that I'm done with the vacation, more about our new house we are trying to put in here. We started looking 3 years ago. Last year we settled on a house. But it was out our range. The bottom line for payments would be to much. Now this year with the interest rates low. We are trying it again . I'm giving it about 50/50 chance of happening instead of next year. But it's our dream and will last the rest of our lives.
last Sunday , we went up to the manufactured home place. (Crown homes) and picked out the changes we wanted . We should know in about 3 weeks, if it's happening this year.
Keep it up everyone.
news is news
Bob

Mom's Blog #2, 2/28/2010

Hi all,
*** Toni/Louisa - please add Mom to blog so she can go online herself.

Hello Everyone,Bob said to type with both hands but right now that's not possible, My hand comes back and hits me in the stomach SOOOO, here's the latest on me. Last Monday, during thrapathy they had me moving my left hand I was really pumped when I came home'but the next day it was gone Will see what happens tomorrow


Dad and Jeff are going shopping

Hi again

Copy and paste this to your web browser. It's the house we are planing on buying. and replacing the existing house with.

http://thekarstenco.com/home_details.cfm?modelno=92MCK27603AH&showfloorplan#exterior

Oregon Reitters

Hi guys. ;

Don't forget to make a small post Mom :)

Well. It's Friday and I have it off. I had a late shift last night. Got off at 11 PM and home at midnight. Got into bed around 2 am. Kathy's alarm went off at 4 am and i kind of woke up then. Dozed off and on , then she left for work at 5:30 and then I was awake. Soooooo I'm here poking on this keyboard, waiting to get tired enough to go back to sleep. SIGH. Pretty much normal for this shift. OK. enough of the crying.

OK. Abit about the days of shipboard life. Days one and two were cloudy and abit cool. So no sunbathing or swimming. 1st night out we went dancing. Quit early ( about 1am Colds that we both were fighting draining us abit. 2ND night out was formal dinner. And before that the Captains cocktail party, ( the captain never shows up for these things. ) We danced to some great live band music.
We were given some info from a couple at dinner that at the night dinner, when given the menu. You are given a 5 main courses and a desert to choose from. Well each you have 5 to 8 items to choose from. On our 1st cruise, we would only order one item from each category. Well we found out now, that they don't care, order as much as you want. You Can't make up you mind between lobster or Prime rib?
Don't worry about it. Order both. Eat what you want and as much as you want. Holy cow I ate really good. at least 2 nights I got sooo stuffed that I couldn't stay up and party. Went to bed early. And this isn't burgers and pizza. Heck, that's served all day long up on deck. This is fine dinning. Very good cooking.

Kathy had fun at the slots from time to time. I hung around the Tables. Black jack and Caribbean stud. I learned to take my time and watch the tables and only play when it looked like the dealers wasn't doing well. At one time I was up 280.00 and ended up up 160.00 Kathy lost about 70 at the slots. So not bad. I would have done better but a couple of times I got board and made dumb bets.

The rest of the nights out were pretty much the same. Allot going on. 3rd day out the sun was out and we enjoyed the water slide.

We soo wish we had the Cash to cruise more often. Would love to do it every other year. Oh well. We now have to cool it and save money.

Our next thing is to put a new house on the property. So for the foreseeable future. we'll be watching our money very careful.
More to come on that, with the next post.


Have a great Friday. Feb 26
Bob

Hi From Tok

Well it is so nice to see my dad and G'ma on here I think this could be a very good thing.
The weather has beed really warm here, we have been up to 30 above and the is just crazy.
I got my cast off last Tuesday I am now in a walking cast however I cant walk on it till next Tuesday. I am do PT with it though so I have good day and bad days (but I can take a shower now sooo cool). Doc said my ankle needs to heel more before he looks at my knee more but I have a bad feeling I will be having surgery on that also.
Jim is doing well, but really wants to get back to work which may be soon ( YAY ). THey are doing test on Demitri for (sorry for spelling errors) Phonological processing delay, which mean he may say a word but he hears it different so reading, spelling and speech are all very hard for him. If he test positive which they think he will it will be about a two year program for him to correct the issue. Trinity is still playing hockey and keeping her grades up. I think she will continue to play till she can try a new sport (6th grade). Well I better get back to work HEHE.
Love you all.
Louisa

Oregon Reitters

Don't know if I'll have time to finish this before I have to get ready for work. I might do this in two parts.

Cobo St. Lucas ;
Cobo had the least amount of time in port. Only about 5 hrs usable. But this is where I had my pick of shore excursions. I went para sailing. Wow. What a great ride. We took a 15 min ride out to the other side of our anchored out ship. Kathy went with so she could take pics. Couldn't talk her into going up. Only down side was , I wish it was a longer time spent up in the air. What a view.
After that we wondered along the side walk around the harbor. Boat dock on one side and shops , restaurants , clubs , on the other. There was everything from drug stores that you could buy drugs that we can't have without a prescription. That is everything but drugs that could be abused like uppers and downers. Also liqueur stores that was tax and duty free. (about 1/3 rd the price at home. or less. Jewelry stores. tourist shoppes.
We went into a club and didn't want to stay and they put our beer and margarita in paper cups and we walked around the down sipping on our drinks. When we ran out, we went into another club and did it again. Wow. No one cared . No one said anything.
We stopped into a authentic restaurant on the way back and had a great meal.
One thing that was very visible was military in every port. There was always 2 or more armed military on the pier. and going out of Cobo. A gun boat with 2 50 cal. escorted the ship out of port. Definitely not Kansas , Toto.

OK. I'm out of time. Next up with be abit about our on ship experiences.

Time to get ready for work. Icky.
Bob

Oregon Reitters

Very good to see you on here , Mom. Thank you. This should be good therapy. Use both hands mom and take your time.
Happy belated birthday Louisa. Sorry that I forgot. To many things going on all at once.
Keep it up everyone. Let's make this blog A habit and feeling natural as a usable communication tool.

Next the next chapter in our vacation
Bob

Msg from Mom (hunt'n peck so bare with)

Hello everyone,

Littlt by littleI'mgetting my life back even tho it's slow. This lap top of Jeff's is great. I can't get my wheelchair through the door to the office to use the computer so at least I am able to use this, with fingers of one hand. They have told me the last thing to come back are the fingers.

Willie our Pug has had some ear infection problems so besides gramps running me back and forth for therapy 3 days a week he's had to deal with Willie so he has had his hands full.
All for now.Love you all,
Mom/G'ma

oregon Reitters

Wow. I'm writing a book. Had enough Toni and Louisa? LOL
What with Kathy and i working different shifts. She's asleep when I get home I have nothing else to do but play games or text.

I love you all

bob

Oregon Reitters

Vacation , Part 2
Mazatlan was less interesting for us, but in part because of the shore excursion that we went on. We heard from a few other people on the ship that they enjoyed the port. We went to Rock island through an very old section of the town. Saw coconut groves. Ended up at a beach and an outdoor restaurant of sorts. Served Authentic local lunch, ( wish there was more of it) and had a day of relaxation on the beach, Problem was, that it wasn't a very clean area and we had people trying to sell tourist stuff standing between us and the ocean in front of us and continuously trying to sell us stuff. The longer the day went on. I went swimming and was opening my eyes looking around under water, ( knowing that i could do that from my navy days). After that my right eye started bothering me more and more. I thought that I had picked up some sand or something because when a wave would go over, the stuff on the bottom would move around. It was a sandy beach. I got back to the ship and went to the ships doctor. Got treated for a possible eye injury and infection. But it was so irritating that I didn't go out that night. the next morning both eyes were glued shut and my left was bothering me.
Sound familiar Louisa? Pink eye. dang
Well all for now. more to come
Have a great day
Bob

Oregon Reitters

Vacation time;
Greetings from Grants pass.
After a year of saving and paying for a piece of it each month. We had our 2ND cruise with Carnival Cruise lines.
We went on a 7 day cruise to the Mexican Riviera. Left Long Beach on Sunday Jan 17 . It was a great trip but had some bad luck along the way. I had a cold going on for over a week before and Kathy caught it 2 days before. Kathy couldn't hardly talk for the 1st 2 days. By the 2Nd day we both were feeling better.
Then Port ta Viarta. spelling I'm sure is wrong. That place was great. First we went on a dolphin adventure. It was fantastic. The climace was each of us, side by side on our own dolphins holding onto there fins riding for about 50 feet. It was Kathys dream come thru.
After that the group returned to the ship and we took a taxi down town. It was great wandering around the shops. Tasting Taquila. visting and finishing the day on the pier at a small set up bar, drinking margaritas and mexican beer. Kathy had abit to much taquila and i helper her aboard. But it was a great time.
Next instalment, Mazatlan.
Good night
Bob

Glad to see the participation!

Welcome to the latest blogging Reitter - my Uncle Bob! :) Can't wait to see what that old timer is up to these days ;)

Talked with G'Parents tonight, tried to finalize a few things for the Iditarod next month, everyone sounds really good. G'ma was watching the news and planning on doing a few exercises before bed. She sounds really good (and was glad I didn't go over to theri house while I had the flu). G'Pa sounded tired, but it was after a long day of all of his things he does so I'm not surprised.

Nothing much going on with me. Been blogging on my personal blog about the olympics. If you're interested - http://tonichelle.blogspot.com - I think I miss my journalism courses more than I realized I could! LOL

Night all!

From the Oregon Reitters

Hi everyone.

Little By Little

Sorry about not updating. Life is crazy these days - work is kicking my butt - so I am not doing much but playing simple video games so that my brain can just calm down.

Visited the G'parents today after church, G'ma was sitting in the living room watching the Superbowl. She looks REALLY good, but is still frustrated with how 'slowly' she feels she's progressing. She did a few of her exercises while I was there, but is relying on others to remind her to do them, and since it's a house of forgetful there, I have a feeling she doesn't do them often enough. But with everything going on you can't fault them for not keeping everything running smoothly.

G'ma shared with me that several of their fellow church members have come over to visit and help out around the house - mainly with cleaning. Thank you so much to their Church family at Change Point! God will bless you for your ministry to our family!

Jeff was cooking superbowl goodness when I got there, and g'pa was off delivering something to someone lol. Talked with Gpa after he got back about the Iditarod and if he was going to run the Tudor Trail Guard or how he wanted to go about that. Looks like we're going to run it in tandem this year (with Jim Steele's blessing of course - Jim is the head of that department of volunteers). Told him I'd do anything he needed. He's not sure he will actually make it down to the event, but I think it would be good for him (biggest concern is we don't know how to get gma INTO the motorhome as it's not big enough for her wheelchair and she's not strong enough to climb the steps). I'm sure we can get it worked out, though.

Anywho, like I said, G'ma is doing really well and she seems more like her self this time around. (She was constructively critisizing Carrie Underwood's singing during the preshow stuff) So it's going pretty well.

A bit from Tok

Well I thought I would drop a message to let every one know how things are here. Weather has been warmer then normal (not complaining), Jim had a snowmachine race in January he place 3rd in his class, I broke my ankle three weeks ago and had to have surgery on it. The kids are doing great, Trinity is playing hockey this year and Demitri, well he's still a typical little boy.
We will be traveling to Anchorage to see Gma & Gpa next weekend and I hope to be able to post abit about that trip when we come back.
To Toni hey your not posting:( Untell we get Jeff going good on this you are the eyes and ears. Oh and I wanna talk to you when we are in Anchorage abou this blog see if we may be able to make it a bit simpler for people to use.
To my dad & Kathy if you guys read this please leave a comment as I couldn't see anything you wrote.

So far so good...

sorry for the late update. Spent about an hour with grandma after they got her to her room. She started to nod off so G'pa and I figured that was a sign that we could leave. She looked really good, was really aware even though she was definitely still coming out of the surgery fog.

She was complaining that her throat hurt as that's where they made the incision, but other than that she was doing pretty well.

She's in her room!

Linda just came in and told us that she's "been delivered" so I guess I should log out and hang out with her a bit... hooray!

more updates later!

And we have a room number!

Providence Neurology room 568, she's not here yet, though. Grandpa is out getting the van pulled around so he can take all of the goodies out of her rehab room and take most of them home. She will be in this part of the hospital - it sounds like - for three or four days. Dr. Chow (her rehab doctor) told us to tell her that she should enjoy her "vacation" because she WILL be going back over to his wing for at least another week after she recoups from her surgery.

I'm watching my grandfather wander around chatting with all of the staff. He's bragging that I'm here hanging out with him. It cracks me up and embarasses me at the same time. But hey, it's good to see him smile.

Grandpa is doing pretty well, he's only gotten teary eyed a couple of times. I think it's almost as hard to see him deal with all of this and the realization that life has changed as we all knew it, as it is to see Grandma deal with everything that is going on. But, God is in control and He knows what's going on. He has a plan and we just have to hold to the promise that He will never leave us, nor forsake us... and that He never gives us more than we can handle.

Grandpa is off to get the van so I have to be on the look out for when they wheel her up to her room. Got the big screen TV on here in the sitting room outside of the physical therapy "gym". It's pretty nice, and I've got the internet to keep myself occupied as I sit and wait. Nothing happens quickly in this section of Providence it seems. :)

Update on Grandma's Surgery

I'm sitting here with my grandpa in the waiting area at Providence. Grandma's surgery went well and we're just waiting for a room to get ready to take her. She will be back to the Neurology unit (same area she was first taken to after the emergency).

So we're just hanging here waiting on news. As far as I know everything looks okay. She really went into surgery at 9:15am and got out at 11:45, so I didn't miss much as far as news while I was at work. I have an awesome bunch of people I work with and for as they've been incredibly supportive this last month. I have the rest of the day off so I came over and took g'pa to lunch and I'll probably hang out here for a while after Grandma gets a room.

The clot was fairly large/thick and it had a lot of calcium build up. Not sure what that all means, but it sounds like they got it out. So that's a good thing, right?

They want g'ma to go home soon after she recovers from this, but grandpa doesn't feel she's ready. She's still not able to support her weight on her left food and she's too ornery to just sit in her wheel chair (no surprise there, right). He's going to try to talk the dr/hospital into giving her another week in rehab. So will keep you updated as we learn more.

G'pa is on the phone with people giving updates. So I'm just keeping this blog updated. Thank you for all of the prayers and support and emails. It's greatly appreciated by all of us!

Love in Christ!

January 5 = Surgery Day

After some confusion as to what day Grandma would be taken in for surgery, the hospital finally kept the original date and so she is set to go in for surgery tomorrow morning at 7am Alaska Standard time (we're an hour behind pacific time for those of you who are like me and failed timezones 101).

Please pray for wisdom for the medical team and peace for my family (especially my grandparents).

I am going to try and get off work early tomorrow (around noon) to pop over to the hospital. I may bring my laptop just in case I'm there a while so that I can keep you all as updated as possible.

Thank you for the continued support and prayers! We're all taking it one day at a time!