Thanksgiving 2009

Another milestone in 2009 has passed! We had a wonderful turkey dinner with the Allen family at Tex'/Sharon's house. Thanks to Tex & Sharon for hosting! Thanks to Kay & Dawn for bringing my dishes as I have no kitchen! It was a beautiful Thanksgiving and we have so much to be thankful for!

On the flip side of that....it has been one wacky year! In the past week or so, our computer caught a virus and went out, the t.v crashed and we are still pecking away at renovating the house/kitchen. I feel like I am back in the 1950s....life is pretty simple at the Curry house---except for all of the decisions that have to be made! This day and age, there are so MANY choices! As of yesterday, we have no washer/dryer, stove, microwave, kitchen sink, pantry, cabinets....in fact, the kitchen is just walls with lights, concrete flooring! The guys will clean up to prepare for tile...today! Cabinets should be installed next week. WooHoo!

Sewing Grandma!

I have neglected this blog lately and will try to do better!

When I saw Justin a few weeks ago, he looked so frail. To my excitement, I saw him this weekend and he looked GREAT! They have put him on more calories and he seems to be stronger, healthier, etc. Yea, Justin! Hang in there, buddy! We love him and pray that many new successes are on the horizon! Praise God!

And then there is Brenlee! She has been such a blessing for us all this year! Recently, I made her a few jumpers and they turned out pretty darling! I'm attaching the pictures Amanda took of Brenlee in her new jumpers, handmade with love by her "ShaSha"!

latest Brenlee pics

Amanda's high school friend took these great shots of Brenlee...there are a lot more, but I picked a few of my favorites!

Another Beautiful Day

Last Thursday, Justin seemed a little down with the sound of his voice; very raspy. He went to the doctor on Friday and the doctor seemed to put his mind at ease as there was still quite a bit of blood, swelling, etc. Bill and I went out of town and talked with Justin on Sunday on the way home, HE SOUNDED WONDERFUL! I think his voice made strides in a few days. He is sounding so much louder and easier to understand on the telephone! YEA!

Flip side is someone got into his truck while it was sitting in the driveway on Sunday night. They took a few things; bummer!

Most important thing is the forward momentum of Justin's voice. Keep those prayers coming!

Thursday, Sept 24

It has been a week since the surgery. Justin's voice is stronger, but not where we want it to be. He is still froggy sounding. The doctor did say that it would take 2 weeks for the vocal cords and area to have all swelling gone. We are still hopeful for more improvement.

A New Day

It is a new day for Justin! Praise God for surgeons--their knowledge & skill is amazing

The doctor completed the surgical procedure and Justin is resting tonight. The surgery seemed to go as planned....drill out the old prosthetic, insert the new one, move paralyzed vocal cord to the center of the throat so the functional one can reach it to provide Justin with a strong voice. He has some pain and swelling. We are very hopeful that when the swelling subsides, we will hear Justin's old voice come out loud and clear.

I know that he is happy to have the surgery behind him. Thanks to all of our friends and family for their kind words and prayers.

New week; new day; new life

We are praying that Justin finds a new lease on life this week! Surgery will be on Thursday at the Methodist Hospital in the medical center here in Houston. We are praying for a successful surgery that will give Justin his voice back.

Brenlee is getting big and we hope you enjoy the latest picture!

Prayers for Justin

We have continued to pray for Justin's recovery. He is getting stronger each day, but still contends with the feeding tube. One week from tomorrow, Sept 10, he will go to Methodist hospital for another surgery. This surgery is supposed to move his vocal cord to a better position and should give him most of his voice back.

Please join us in praying for a successful surgery and a quick recovery!

Playin In Sprinkler

Bren had so much fun playing in the sprinkler this week AND she started preschool!

The teacher said that she led the music class; dancing, singing and getting in the teacher's lap at the front of the room. She was quite the ham! Teacher said she entertained at lunch with her singing, as well. Happy day at school!

Tex' Birthday

We had a fun birthday get together for Tex on his birthday, Aug. 12. We had lunch and swimming at Kay's house. It was Kay's last day of summer as she is back to school on Thursday. All 4 siblings were there and several of the children and grandchildren. Enjoy the pictures!

More Wedding Pics

Small pic at the top is Bill, Sherrie and Brenlee leaving the church.
Next is the 4 siblings...Tex, Sherrie, Kay and Dawn.
Third pic is Cleve and Justin.
Great fun for the whole family!

I have had some emails asking about Justin and he is just bobbing along in the same condition. He feels that IF he gets better it would be in the first year after surgery; and later in the year rather than earlier...so, hopefully, we will see some improvement in the next 6-8 months!

But nothing yet. He will have a procedure in Sept to move the vocal cord and we pray that will give him relief with talking (drs say 80-90% will come back) and possibly slightly with the swallowing (they say maybe some help). I pray for him daily and know God's awesome healing hand is there holding his.

Thank you, again, for your kind thoughts, words and prayers!

Lacey's Wedding

Donlee, Brenlee, and Amanda at Lacey's wedding. It was great fun!

August is NEAR

We are approaching August! It is hard to believe that the year is passing so quickly. Miss Brenlee is getting to be such a big girl. I wish that I had pictures from our recent trip to Atlanta;hopefully, I will get some soon.

The work on the interior of the house is progressing slowly. We hope to order cabinets this week or next week. Then, we can demo more of the areas with the existing cabinets coming out last--after new ones arrive, just before installation.

Brenlee is a bundle of joy! She spent the night last night as her Daddy is sitting for the Bar Exam. I'm sure Daddy could not focus on studying with this cute little bundle running around chatting up a storm. We were happy to have her!

Lacey Allen, Tex & Sharon's daughter, will be married this weekend. So, it will be a funfilled weekend of family activities!

Justin continues to amaze us with his cute personality and his sweet ways! He comes by weekly to get his time with Brenlee! She loves her "Uncle J"! Continue to keep him in your prayers as he plays the waiting game. He will wait until September for his next procedure that is supposed to help his voice. At this time, he continues on with the feeding tube, but is waiting for progress. He tells me that the nerves won't really "heal" or "regenerate" as they were cut, but I guess that his body can compensate. Time is the only thing that will give us the answer...so "time will tell". Keep my precious boy in your prayers!

Bill & I will be celebrating our 34th anniversary on August 9th! YEA!
Next year, our 35th anniversary will be on 08/09/10....cool! So, we may have to plan something really cool for next year!

Friday, July 10

Bill and Justin were in good spirits! Justin checked in at 6:45am, is having MRI and then the radiation. They were released around noon and all is well. The docs feel things went well. Justin has not had any side effects and will have a check up after 6 months.

Follow-up

Today was the follow-up visit with the neurosurgeon.

I just spoke with Bill and he felt the follow-up with the surgeon had gone well. They spent an hour talking with him and letting him answer all of the questions that Justin had about the surgery.

He was very pleased with Justin's progress. He said Justin had a GREAT attitude and was doing remarkably well. He does feel the nerves will heal and adjust that they are very traumatized from the surgery. He feels the procedure on the vocal chord that Justin has planned for this fall will help with the voice and swallow situations.

Continued prayers for the radiation to work on the existing tumor...tomorrow morning Justin checks in about 6:45am and will be released in the afternoon. They will be home Saturday evening.

Praise God for His blessings and THANKS to all of our kind family and friends for their thoughts and prayers as Justin travels this crazy road of life!

Reno and Demo

I should take some pictures tomorrow of the house....it has new siding, new windows, new doors, and new paint. It has not been painless! In fact, it has been quite painful! Painful for Bill because he is the one the installed the beautiful new windows and doors...painful to me because I used about 8 different samples of paint and still was not sure which color to put on the house! YIKES! We are pretty pleased with the final paint job and the beautiful siding.

The demo will take place on Justin's tumor on Friday. He and Bill are leaving first thing Wednesday morning to go back and see the neurosurgeon. Then, they will do a radiation treatment on the smaller tumor....the larger tumor was removed in February. Thoughts and prayers for Justin this week!

Gone Fishing!

EWW, what is that, Grand daddy?
That is the wierdest thing I've ever seen!
I think I'll check it out!

Bill and Justin went fishing. They had a great time. Wow, what a hot day they picked to go fishing. Here are some pictures of Brenlee checking out her first fish!

Justin is really enjoying his boat. Thanks, J and Bill, for sharing the fish with us!

July 4 coming up!

We plan to be at the Broome's for part of the day and celebrate the 4th of July. Justin and Amanda may join us...time will tell! I hope they are able to join us as it makes things more fun!

Family Lake Weekend

We try to pick a weekend each year for the family to go to the lake. Last year, we had the whole crew only missing Uncle Mike. This year, we had several missing. Maybe next year we will get the entire crew back again! It is always fun to see the cousins together! Picture at the top is Patrick & Ashley/Wes' son, next is Amanda & Ashley (with Ashley/Wes son), next is Shelley Allen holding Kyle (one of Ashley/Wes' sons) and the last picture is of the twins-Paige & Lauren with Shelley. Fun times at Canyon Lake!

Where is the rain?

Whew-it has been a hot and dry June! We have been staying cool in the house and playing in the water, which Brenlee loves. Brenlee loves being outside, so we try to stay in the shade, playing in the yard or riding in the stroller.

Wednesday

It is Donlee and Amanda's 3rd wedding anniversary! Wow, how time flies! Congratulations!!

We spent Father's Day with the family. Justin, Donlee, and Amanda cooked for us and it was wonderful! The guys left at 4am to go fishing in J's boat and returned around noon. Then, we got together Sunday evening as a family.

Here are a few pics of Brenlee as we try to entertain ourselves and stay cool while our house is in an uproar! No carpet yet;hopefully, next week! The siding is going up and looking great...then a new roof...then, the interior. The picture shows the new windows that Bill added to the house while the siding was off....the pic shows the new windows with the new siding--YEA!

Wednesday

Bren and I are having fun....even though I don't think it is officially summer!

Saturday, May 30

Last night was busy! Bill, Kay and I attended our sister, Dawn's dance recital and concert. It was very nice and I know that they worked hard to prepare. Great job! Then, we headed to our brother's, Tex, home for Shelley's 22 birthday. Happy Birthday, Shelley! Justin dropped by before going out with some friends. This morning Justin, Bill and Tex headed to Matagorda to fish. Good luck guys-hope you have a great outing!

Very Interesting!

Well, it seems that the tickle in Justin's throat was because he had his hair cut and there was a long hair in his throat that he could not swallow and could not seem to cough up! Hopefully, he is doing better!

Bill, Justin, and Donlee went fishing Saturday morning for a few hours. It was a maiden voyage for his boat and I know that they had fun....each catching several fish!

Justin--the best uncle ever!

As you know Justin is the best uncle EVER! Brenlee thinks he is wonderful and says, "J" every time we go by his picture!

Please do continue to pray for him...each time I begin to think things are on the mend, something new comes up. When we saw him last night, he had a tickle in his throat that would make him cough so hard he almost passed out. He had to pull the car over at one point because his coughing made him so dizzy. I'm not sure what is going on in his throat, but I am still praying for the throat to work better and the feeding tube to be removed.

Thanks to all for your kind words and prayers!

What a weekend! part 3

On our way home from the lake, we stopped by Justin's and saw his new boat. He is so proud of it and we hope it brings him many years of joy!

What a weekend! part 2

After graduation Friday night, we went to the lake first thing Saturday morning.
That night went to Austin, 6th Street, and laughed our heads off at Esther's Follies.
We shopped at the San Marcos outlets.
And we went out in the boat on a beautiful Monday! We did not want to come home!

What a weekend! part 1

Wow-what a weekend!
It began with Donlee Smith (our son-in-law) graduating from law school. WooHoo!

Welcome to the Flood of 2009!

Yes, I've been out of touch! There has not been a lot going on with Justin...the same old roller coaster. 4 days after they "fixed" his feeding tube, the stitches tore out. Each time they tear, it irritates the skin around the wound and has kept it inflamed for months now. He did swallow a teaspoon of water last week after therapy, but it has not become innate yet. We are hoping that it will become easier and a reflex...he is not there yet. Justin is wanting to buy a boat! We look forward to the fun and relaxation that he might find being able to get away from it all with his new boat. He was sooo excited to swallow the teaspoon of water;a little disappointed the next week when it was not easier or improved. He is very excited about getting a boat and so life moves along!

And, then there is the Curry household! Our house flooded April 28 when the rain fell upon Katy. Some day the house will look gorgeous, but in the meantime, Bren is crawling on cement foundation and our lives are chaos! Oh, well, just another pot hole in the road of life!!

sunday

Thanks to our Heavenly Father and wonderful doctors as Justin is feeling much better after the procedure on Friday. In fact, he babysat for Brenlee on Saturday night for a few hours. Yea, Uncle Justin! Justin is back to feeding himself through the feeding tube and it is going into the stomach. Last Sun and Mon, it was not in place and he could not eat at all. Tuesday, they put it in too deep and it was emptying into his intestine...leaving his stomach empty, growling, and with acids gurgling. He was unable to eat much....really small servings about 12 times a day...too much pain, nausea, etc. I believe he lost about 5 pounds.

The therapy continues...he has had about 6-8 sessions. He is supposed to go 3 times a week, but the therapist was ill and then Justin was ill. So, we hope that he can get back to a regular schedule. With time and therapy, Justin did tell me that he is feeling a little more motion of his tongue. He is still not able to get things all of the way down his throat...but it was a tiny step forward and hopeful for this momma to hear that!

Hopefully, he is back on the road to recovery. Please continue to keep Justin in your prayers as he heals and rehabs during this long journey.

Friday

Today, Justin will have the feeding tube moved to a better spot. When they stitched it back in on Monday, they pushed it too far and it is against the intestine, not allowing him to put much "milkshake" down at a time. They told him to feed small feedings 12 times a day, but he is still weak and nauseous from the new positioning.

I will be taking him to St. Christus at noon today for the procedure.

****We have returned from the procedure. Justin will not really know how it went until he feeds himself for the first time....but he feels good about things.

That boy brings a smile to my face! He had me smiling throughout the afternoon. When dropping him off, I handed him a few dollar bills---he responded, I guess you know that now I'm headed to the Strip Club! LOL That boy!!

He did tell me that his tongue is working better and although the food will not pass by a muscle in the back of his throat...he has felt a few new movements. Not as far along as his mom would like, but we'll take whatever we can get!

Wednesday

Bren is one great little helper....she handed me each of the utensils out of the dishwasher so I could put them away. Also today, she got her diaper & wipes out of the diaper bag and handed them to her mom because she needed a clean one. LOL--what a little helper! Too, too cute!!

Whoops! Her bow is crooked because I have to put it in quickly and then divert her attention! If I mess with it, she grabs it out of her hair immediately and says, "Bow"! Also, if anyone says the word BOW, she will grab for her head looking for a bow, yanking one out if she finds one. LOL

Tuesday

Here are a few pics of Bren enjoying being one year old! Bren looks so grown up!

We saw Justin Sunday for my birthday and he looked great! Today, he has been battling nausea and Bill is taking him to the ER because he is so weak. He is such a trooper; please pray for him as he continues to fight through this difficult journey. There are no major problems, from what I understand. The tube moved and Justin will have to adjust to more feedings a day with less liquid each feeding. Please pray that this adjustment does the trick.