After Thanksgiving 2014

My Family and I spent this year at my fathers new home accross the street from mine. My Mother left her assisted living facility to see if she would like to join him long term and try having my Wife Dolly, my Daughter, Son and I help her and my father with their daily needs. My sisters and their daughters also joined us for the holiday meal. 

It went well considering. I got sick. My mom got sick. My sisters could not stay long and returned home to their jobs with their daughters. And of course the usual family politics. 

As the week went on I got sicker. My father did a very good job cooking for my mother. My wife kept their kitchen and home clean. I ran to the store for them twice but only because my wife and kids were all working. 

In the end the new week began. My Doctor gave me antibiotics. I got better and tomorrow I will drive my mother home whom is also feeling better. She got cold meds early on. I think that saved her. Boy did I feel shame as I get chest congestion every winter but I'm not contagious I thought. So bummed she got a cold. 

The staff at Shasta Humanity Project is back to work this week. Things are moving forward there. 

About 4 weeks before the holiday I went to Soar to the guru Dr. Gamburt and he gave me a nerve block in my neck. It relieved about 25 percent of my pain in my neck and some of my shoulder. Enough I can sleep a little again. Such a relief to be able to sleep again. 

Life is what we make it. We can keep our minds occupied and give our lives a little purpose and it can give a dificult life a spark of energy that provides for a quality of life that makes it enjoyable. With faith and a positive attitude even when we get sick we can see the positive. I pray it stays that way. My faith leads me to believe it will.  

Shasta Humanity Project Receives 501C3

A big surprise yesterday when we checked the mail at the SHP office. Inside the mailbox was a letter from the IRS months earlier than expected approving the 501c3 status of SHP. Now volunteer staff may start submitting applications for funding for the development of the 40 homes on several acres to house local Homeless in Shasta County. Truly an amazing project in progress. Grants for continued education and transportation to employment opportunities and more will also be applied for. My wife Dolly and the staff at SHP and myself are all in awe. A true blessing of favor is in the works!

Updated. this post is from 2016 but as I did a spelling correction so it's been republished as of Sept 2000. What you see and dont see. A beautiful couple. Loving smiles. Joy. It shines in us both. But what you dont see is the hidden pain and discomfort I awaken with throughout the night as I try to sleep. It comes on heavy at times throughout my days. Thanfully The Lord removes these pains from my thoughts when I take the time to pray and he replaces them with the joy and love he has blessed me with.

So much Happens so fast!

Fundraising and a new office for the volunteers. 

Dolly and I are enjoying supporting this cause together. However it comes at a price. Dolly has no free time as when she is not at her job she is often volunteering at this new office. I myself am doing what I can to support the efforts of the volunteers. However I have to remember to not do too much as I forget my limitations and often try to do more than I am able. I pay the price with aches and pains and even anxiety as I sometimes feel alone in my efforts even when I am not. fortunately this blogue allows me the opportunity to reflect and take notice of whats going well and whats not and make the corrections so I may continue to heal and not injure myself further by doing too much. Tha cause is good but it must be done at a pace my body can tolerate. 

Ready to take a break

After volunteers spent two busy weeks with working to get the non profit established and a office open the dream is about to launch. It took collaboration and dedication to get it done but we are almost there. I told those who helped that the launch was the hardest job they would have. Moving forward the rest of the work will be shared by a larger group of volunteers. I feel like much has been accomplished over tha last 5 months.  But now its time to delegate more of the responsibilities as it will take the entire volunteer staff to get all the work done that needs to be done over the next year. 

My body is tired. My neck, sternum, shoulder, back and leg are all in need of some tlc. I had no business doing what I did but I had to try. With Gods help I got through it. I'm shifting gears back to a safe pace that wont get me sick or cause me further injury. It is all about self care. I need and deserve it so I am going to get it. My wife worked hard editing documents by my side. She deserves a rest too as she also works full time on top of taking care of me. Its break time for my wife and self care time for me.  

For our community.

This is the start of a new project that We are happy to be playing a volunteer role in supporting. 

The Shasta Humanity Project is dedicated to inspiring a spirit of hope for those without a place to live and return their sense of dignity through independent living.  Our core purpose is to enhance quality of life by providing a focused spectrum of services and housing in an atmosphere of dignity and respect to encourage permanent self-sufficiency.

Happy Mothers Day.

My Mom is everything to my family. She represents the joy, love and happiness that raised us to be who we are today. By the Grace of God goes she. 

My parents are so cute!

Mom and Dad just got home from the Hospital. Mom was not well but they let her out. We are happy to see her back home. 

Another visit to Stanford

Dolly and I made the trip to Stanford again Monday. A new care plan was put in place. I have to go back again for a follow up and testing in three weeks. So far it is going well. The drive was beautiful. Summer is here. 

The Canada experience.

After being sick for a week in April I took my family for a road trip to Canada. The entire trip I suffered from illness but we experienced so much joy with our relatives. After receiving many healing prayers we attended the South Side Victory Church in Calgary. Here I listened to Pastor Craig offer up a sermon on leaps of faith and taking risks with the strength of faith to win personal battles. We got home 5 days ago. My health has improved much. Opportunities are knocking at my door. I have one more issue to overcome. I'm praying my faith will be strong enough to see me through this challenge so I may take on a new opportunity and bring blessings to my family and my community. I pray my Doctors bless me next week with the encouragement to move forward. No matter the outcome a purpose and direction will be achieved. This I already know. Because I have faith. 

A time to heal is a time for prayer.

Something personal. As I am a person with physical disabilities I have developed tools to succeed in business but sometimes they are not enough. My disability has unseen barriers. These include the need to either sit or stand or lay down often in order to manage discomfort. In addition circulatory and neurological issues often interfere with my being productive. It is for these reasons I have not returned to permanent full time or part time work. I have worked hard for nearly 11 years to attempt to return to the work force. I wish my issues would heal. I have the best Doctors. I just need a miracle. If my miracle never comes the life I currently live will continue to be acceptable. It is what we make of it. Not what it makes of us. 

Mary Lou Christians 80th Birthday.

Family update

My wife and kids finally got to try their luck at snow boarding last week. 

The boys did great. Our daughter had fun. The wife struggled some but really enjoyed watching her children enjoy the experience. 16 feet of snow at Mt Bachelor. We brought our Dog Riot on the long 5 hr drive. He enjoyed the snow also. I spent the day driving and buying coffee and coco to keep the family warm. We all had a really good time. 

Today we celebrate my Mothers 80th Birthday. Were looking forward to that. I am so fortunate to have been blessed with my Mothers love and support in all I ever did. She inspired me to have a big heart like hers. For that I am forever grateful. 

A new path!

 Over the last few weeks I have recovered from being lost to feeling confident my path is secure and strong. With renewal in our home and in my community service new comforting opportunities have been put before me. With newly painted walls and new flooring in our home and my new professional hobby I feel like I am on the right path again. As my health issues are being managed and monitored I can now focus on living my life in a way that is enjoyable and supportive for me and my family. 

Watching it fall apart. Praying for direction.

Being unable to control whats happening to my body is frustrating on so many levels. From years or patching up the injuries the pain returns only when I try to use my body and mind for prolonged periods of time. Feeling like a lamp

Post in my home that gets turned on and off only when needed. 

I find myself uninterested in much of the norm and striving to break out and do more. But my body can not keep up. Those arround me know my pains but they grow tired of my lack of ability to do more. 

I have never been one to sit idle until forced to by my injuries. So I refuse to accept or acknowledge my lack of ability and instead I push myself hard to try to regain the active life I once had. Trying to be accepted by my peers only to have them see my body fail me. The brain can no longer handle the stress of elevated blood pressure when I exert myself. It only feels dizzy and cloudy and the lights start to go out. So far I have only fallen once. But I have nearly blacked out on a dozen occasions in the last few weeks. I cry out to my wife, my family and my Doctor. The response is the same from all.  You need to slow down. Rest. How can I do that? It's not who I am! 

I see relationships starting to fall apart as fast as my health. 

I'm watching any chance to live a better life disappear. I feel like Im in the way. Maybe its time for me to set those relationships and hopes free? Maybe I need to walk my own path on my own? 

Tonight I pray God takes control of my destiny until I can see the path he wants me to walk. 

It never ends

It never ends. 1 day I go out for a lovely walk with the wife and our new pet Riot. The next a day shopping with the kids. All of a sudden without notice I colapse in a parking lot. My wife and children all witness this event. I'm sure it scared them. As they help me back to my feet I am dizzy and embarrased. I call my Doctor and of course his office is closed on Fridays. So I go to the ER just to make sure I am ok. They take my vitals. Bp is good. Pulse elevated but I am stable. The EKG looks good. A cat scan is performed Followed by a blood test. After a hr waiting for results I felt it was safe to say Im ok. If not Im guessing I would be chatting with a Doctor by now. I am told it may take as much as six hours to get my results. So I reply you have my phone number? The nurse says yes. I said call me if I'm going to die. Im going home to rest. I was shocked by the reply. She said I will call u if anything bad is discovered and my results will be sent to my Doctor. So home I went and I rested. I never did get a call from the nurse. So I guess I'm going to live. And that people is how great are new medical system works. If u stay at the hospital for 6 hours  your at risk of getting sick from all the flu patients. Maybe we would all be better off if we just don't bother going to the hospital when we are having health issues? Just stay home and rest and pray.