Come along for the Ride!

I am so glad you are here. Stay with us as we travel everywhere. I hope you will enjoy the ride.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Back to Work

We are back to work. It is a brand new year and things in my mind are supposed to be fresh and new but I was heavy and weak and down.
Pops is still not well and the future is uncertain. Jeff is gone and even though we did all we could to help Jane by long distance we weren't there Things just don't feel right and no matter what I do I can't make them right.
Lucy is having trouble with her eye again too. And the dogs both got some sort of stomach virus while we were in Alabama so we had to stop the truck every half hour or so because one of themwas vomiting   or having diarrhea. Oh, boy. I just want to feel alright again.
We ran a few trips here and there but honestly our hearts or minds were not in our work. We had to remember we had to try to work our way home again by the 12th for Pops' Dr. appointment.
He was getting used to the catheter and the antibiotics were helping him to feel better so that was good.
After a few days the dogs got over their mess, except for Lucy's eye. So I called and got her an appointment for the vet while we were going to be home. Turns out her appointment was the exact same day and time as Pops'.
Pops' appointment was on a Saturday and we planned to just be home for the weekend. So imagine our disappointment when our time at home was nothing like we hoped it would be.
We got home and unloaded our dirty clothes and got settled.
We got up the next morning and got ready to go. I was going to the Dr. with Pops and Starla was taking Lucy to her appointment.
Starla dropped us off and we went inside. Since it was Saturday there weren't many people there and we got in right away. The Dr. came in and talked to Pops and explained what he thought was going on and all the different options that we faced. But the hinge was whether or not he was going to pee when the catheter came out. So they once again filled his bladder with water and removed the catheter. And once again no pee! We waited and tried several time but nothing happened.
The Dr. came back into the room and explained to us that it was going to require surgery.
At that same exact moment I got a text from Starla telling me that Lucy was going to have to have surgery on her eye.
Well, I guess getting back to normal was just a little further into the future than what I thought.
So the catheter was once again reinserted and a date was set for surgery, January 23rd.
Starla picked us up and she had 2 different medicines for Lucy and we needed to call and schedule her surgery on Monday.
Pops and I planned to go back into service and work up until his surgery date so it was decided that Lucy would stay behind with Starla and Bill and have her surgery.
We enjoyed a wonderful Lord's day service with all our friends at Wills Mountain. The Sunday school lesson was good and the sermon was really good. I can't wait until we can be here all the time. I really miss all these people especially the beautiful ladies of the First Place group.
We went into service on Sunday afternoon but didn't get our load until Monday. So we packed up our truck and said our goodbyes and away we went, leaving Lucy behind. :(
Hopefully she will do fine on Tuesday, that is when her surgery is scheduled.

Jeff Duncan



On January 2, 2013 my very good friend and brother in Christ, Jeff Duncan, passed away. I just felt like the wind was knocked right out of me.
I have known Jeff ever since he came to Wills Mountain. He and I hit it off right away. We had similar personalities and we seemed to be able to work together very well.
I respected his knowledge of the Bible. And I thought that he was a really good teacher.
He and I worked together for many years as coaches and advisors for our Bible team. We traveled to many churches to cheer our team on.
We worked together on many projects, like Bibleschool, Camp Meeting, and many others. I truly respected and loved him.
Jeff and his wife Jane became very close friends to me and Pops.
When Pops and I came out on the road Jeff and Jane became our most devoted followers and encouragers. We remained in constant phone contact and I had just begun to send Jeff and Jane postcards from each of the states that we visited.
I will miss him so much. I know that his last year had been really hard on him and Jane. I know his struggle was incredibly hard.
Jeff loved The Lord with his whole BIG heart. He wanted everyone to as well, especially the young people.
I know many people have been influenced by Jeff's faith. I know he made an impact on my life.
I will miss you as a teacher. I will miss you as a confidant. I will miss you as a respected friend, but mostly I will miss you as my brother.
But in the words of Jane, his wife, "I would never wish to have him back." Enjoy Paradise, Jeff. I am thrilled you finished the race so well.



Time at Home

Pops and I did get a load that was coming east. It was going to Virginia. So we made that delivery and I was getting real excited to go home. Our layover option was to go to Harrisburg and to get paid for that we had to stay there for at least 12 hours. So that is what we did.
Our truck was due for inspection so we thought that we might as well have that done to help pass some time. So we went to the garage at the truckstop and they inspected our truck. But to our disappointment it did not pass. We found out that we had an exhaust leak. So we left there and decided to get the work done while home.
We made an appointment for our truck the next day in Bedford which was on our way home to get our generator fixed and to see if they could get us the pipe for our truck. They could but what we didn't know was that we would be there all day long.
As the day went on and on and we waited for the parts to come and the work to get done, it began to snow and sleet. And by 9pm when we left there it was a downright blizzard.
We didn't have any problems traveling until we turned off the main highway on our rural roads. We knew immediately that we had made a mistake. And sure enough we got ourselves in a mess. We couldn't make it up one of the hills.
Pops was driving and he kept the truck moving, inching up the hill. But it was clear that without some  intervention we weren't going to make it. I did not was to try to back down the hill because half way down was a very sharp curve.
A man was watching us out one of the windows of his house. Before long I saw him coming through the yard pushing a wheelbarrow full of ashes. He began to throw shovelfuls of ashes under our rear wheels and we gained enough traction to make it up the hill. We never even got to thank him for helping us although Pops did blow the airhorn.
We had a very treacherous and scary ride home but we did finally make it and I was so glad to be there. My nerves were shot and I just wanted to go off and cry or something. But after I had gotten a shower and settled down it was all good.
We at such a nice time at home.
Our holidays was spent with just our family. Over the weekend we celebrated with Bill's kids. I always enjoy having them around. It was a nice time.
On Sunday we went to church at Wills Mountain and I cannot express how happy I am to get there to be with all my wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ. There is nowhere else I would rather be on this earth.
During the day on Monday my bestfriend and sister, Amy and her whole family came down for a visit. We exchanged gifts and ate some good food. They didn't stay very long though because it started to sleet and get nasty.
Monday was Christmas Eve and this is traditionally the time when our family has it's celebration. I was really missing my dad since this is the first Christmas since he has passed away. But Drew and Shelby and Tom came up and Bill and Starla were here and we had a really good time.
I love my kids. I love my family more than they know.
Tuesday, Christmas Day was a quiet day. It was me and Pops and Bill and Starla. We spent the day just doing odd and end things and really just relaxing. Of course there was so much good food too.
Wednesday was Pops' Dr. appointment. We were so very happy that he wasn't going to have to wear this nasty catheter anymore.
When we got there, they filled his bladder with water and removed the catheter. We waited for him to pee but nothing happened. Okay.
The Dr. convinced us that Pops had a problem with his prostate and that he needed some medicine that would shrink it and he would be able to pee. So we left there with high hopes and a new medicine.
We got home and Pops still didn't pee. We waited and waited and waited and nothing happened other than he was in pain and misery. So by 3am we were in the car headed to the ER to get another catheter. Great.
Pops had an appointment on Jan 12 and 2 weeks worth of medicine so he decided to live with the catheter until then. So we spent the rest of the holiday week at home.
It was such a nice time other than the prostate problem. But we are trusting God and many are praying for him, so it will all be good.
We stayed home throughout the holiday and got a trip that was picking up on January 2nd in Wilmington, DE going to Huntsville, Alabama.