My daughter Cindy knows me so well

I heard a bang at the front door and there was a big box on the porch. When I opened the box it was a Christmas gift from my daughter Cindy to me.  She really knows what I like. :) It all looks so good. Thank you Cindy, and God bless.  Now to start destroying the evidence ( I mean let the eating commence. ) 

Got a call from my daughter Cindy

I just got a call from my daughter Cindy. Her ship USS Abraham Lincoln is on the other side of the world. It's been a good past couple of days. I talked to my son Mike from South Korea and John from his ship. :) It always makes me smile to hear from my kids when they are so far away. :)

My daughter Cindy

My daughter Cindy just emailed me this picture. "Frocking pic w/ capt Alexander and Rear Admiral and CMC" Cindy is second from left. 

Frocking is a United States military term for a commisioned or non-commissioned officer selected for promotion wearing the insignia of the higher grade before the official date of promotion (the "date of rank"). An officer or NCO who has been selected for promotion may be authorized to "frock" to the next grade.

Cindys Frocking Ceremony

My daughter Cindy on the USS Abraham Lincoln sent me this picture from her Frocking Ceremony. She is now a Second Class Petty Officer. Congratulations FC2. 

Congratulations to my daughter Cindy for getting 2nd Class

My daughter Cindy on the USS Abraham Lincoln ( second from right ) holding the US Navy Flag when they were in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

Congratulations to my daughter Cindy for getting 2nd Class. We're proud of you FC2 Cindy.  :)

I'm pissed

Ok, so Bloglines will officially shut down on October 1, 2010 and I am not happy about it. I loved using Bloglines and I hate Google reader. How is that for a post? LOL

Anyway, thinks are going ok here. The kids are all doing well and our son John is coming to visit us this week and Mike is going to come home on leave in February. Cindys ship got a Starbucks on it. :) She says "I had a Chai Latte last night and it was pretty good." We can't even get a Starbucks here in our city. I think the closest one is probably about 90 miles away. I'm glad they put one on the ship it gives them just a little taste of home when they are out on those long deployments. That's about all for now. Still pissed about Bloglines but such is life. LOL

Another Hot Day

It's another hot day here in south east Kansas, right now it's 104 degrees outside with a heat index of 111 degrees. I am really looking forward to some cooler weather.

Today is Friday the 13th and it started out with a bang. My father-in-law had to go to the ER at 8am this morning. He was having chest pain and has had several heart attacks, a valve replacement, and a pacemaker and defibrillator implanted. We met him and my mother-in-law at our local hospital and after a few hours they transferred him to Topeka Kansas by ambulance to be in the hospital where his Cardiologist is located. It looks like it is his congestive heart failure and they are giving him diuretics to reduce the fluid build up that he is experiencing.

There is really not allot going on here. I did go see two Drs yesterday and had some more blood work done, it's looking more and more like my crohns disease that is causing the elevated white counts that I have had for several months now. I also took my brother-in-law to Alcohol rehab this past Wednesday and he will be there 21-30 days. We are hopeful that he will be able to find some kind of job when he gets out so he can move out of our house and into his own residence.

The kids are all doing well. Cindy is in San Diego, from the USS Abraham Lincolns Facebook page ( USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) Moored, shift colors. Lincoln is pierside in San Diego after a three successful, and busy, weeks at sea ). John has been busy with his ship and Mike is busy in South Korea. That's about all for now. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

My son Mike in South Korea, picture from yesterday

Too Damm Hot

Hot Weather

Mike on Skype

That's me yesterday when I was talking to my son Mike online.

Mike on Skype

Cindy ( 7th from the right )

That's right, I'm still here. It's just been so hot lately I haven't felt like doing much of anything. I did mow the yard yesterday and I'm glad I got that done. Right now it's 100 degrees outside with a heat index of 114.4 degrees., It's supposed to be like this all week. YUCK!!!! Ok, enough about that for now. It;s going to be a busy week. I take my brother-in-law to alcohol rehab Wednesday ( he will be gone 28 days ) and then Thursday I have two Dr appointments. Today we moved some furniture around the house, cleaned, and then went grocery shopping.

My kids are all doing well. my son John is at the beach today in Jacksonville, FL, Mike is busy in South Korea ( I talked to him on Skype yesterday ). and Cindy just sent me a picture from her ship. She said "This is a picture taken of me for the United Through Reading group I am part of. its so people can read to their children while we are on deployment and the DVDs get sent back home to the families." :) Ok, as for me I went to the ER a few days ago with double vision with one image on top of the other., it was really interesting to say the least, it lasted several hrs. The PA thinks it was a complex migraine but I will ask my Dr about it when I see him this week. That's about all for now. Hope everyone has a great week.

Good afternoon

Good afternoon everyone and hi Cindy. :) I have been busy with Dr appts lately. When I was in the hospital for the heart cath my white count was really high. I had it tested again last week and it's still high but it did go down a little. I see the Dr again Monday afternoon. To my son John, we made you favorite dinner last night, the Mac and cheese with tomatoes, extra sharp cheese, salsa, and ground beef. Man it was good. :) Today I made egg salad.

It's still hot here with the current heat index of 107 degrees and we are supposed to get hotter this week. Right now I'm lobbying to do away with winter and summer. I just want spring and fall weather from now on. Last night we got to see several meteors from the Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower. If your out tonight look up. Maximum currently occurs on July 29/30 but it will be around for several more days.

http://meteorshowersonline.com/showers/delta_aquarids.html

I talked to my son John yesterday and my son Mike today. It's always great to talk to my kids. Mike is going on leave to Seoul this week. Hope you have a good time Mike. Cindy is out to sea on The USS Abraham Lincoln and John's ship the USS Doyle just got back to port. I miss all three of you.

That's about all for now. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

I'm still alive. :)

I'm still alive. :) I had my heart cath and my heart is in great shape. It just goes to show that years of avoiding fruits and vegetables and eating meat and junk must be good for heart health. LOL Seriously, I don't eat many fruit and veggies because they make me sick with my crohns. On the down side the heart cath was a pain, not the cath itself ( that was a cakewalk ) The hard part was getting it done at all. My white count was up to 24,000 and I don't have any infection. I was transferred to a hospital room and then two more before they finally decided that I could have the cath after all. The Dr's said that they are going to check me for leukemia. My white count has been high for a while now and it is something to be a little concerned about. Hopefully it's just my Crohns disease. Yesterday I was very sick but today I feel much better. I'm just going to take things one day at a time. :)

The weather is still HOT here with temps in the 90s and heath index's in the 100-115 range. I am getting nervous about the next utility bill..... Oh well, such is life. I'm a happy person and blessed in so many ways I'll just be thankful for all that I have. I got an email from my daughter Cindy, she said " Fun stuff. Went to Chilies w/ my boyfriend and Andrew ( was in A school w/ him and he is on the Nimitz). Had a good time". It's great to hear from my kids. My son Mike called several times from South Korea and he is doing well. Mike has been working hard and is exhausted but is doing ok. I haven't heard from my son John and am anxious to hear from him.

To my daughter Cindy, hope you have a great day and I love you. :) <-- I know Cindy will read this and the other kids won't LOL That's all for now.

Another Day

My son Mike with his police vehicle in South Korea

Cindy with her gun the CIWS

Cindy with her gun the CIWS

Good morning, it's going to be another hot day here in Kansas. It's 10:15am and the heat index is 93.7 °F, it will be in the low 100s by this afternoon. Today I plan on cleaning the house and tomorrow I will mow the lawn. Trying to get things done before I go to the hospital Monday. :) My son Mike called me from South Korea today. Mike is doing well but he is exhausted, Mike is an MP in the Army. My other kids ( Cindy and John ) are in the Navy and both are out at sea right now. John will be back soon but Cindy will be gone for a long while. I love and miss you both. I'll write more this weekend. I know Cindy will read this so a big hi to my daughter on the USS Abraham Lincoln. We're proud of you.

Congratulations Cindy

My daughter FC3 Cindy called tonight, she was nominated for Junior Sailor of the quarter for Combat Systems on the USS Abraham Lincoln. Congratulations Cindy and great job on the nomination. I'm so proud of you. :)

I'm Back

Cindy is third from the left.

Good morning everyone. My daughter FC3 Cindy said that I should start updating my Blog again. She can read it on her Ship the USS Abraham Lincoln but can't access Facebook while out at sea. I have been busy since last writing here. Cindy is doing well and her ship is back in port for the moment. Cindy won an Ipod in a bingo game on the ship. She took her test for 2nd class last week and I am sure that she did well. I am so proud of her. :)

Mike center

Mike kneeling

Mike after graduation at the PX at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo

Mike on the left

Mike at Fort Leonard Wood

Mike working on his new computer in my hotel room after graduation at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo

My son PV2 Mike graduated from AIT Military Police School at Fort Leonard Wood , MO last month and is now in South Korea with the 557th MP CO. Mike is doing well and likes it there. I talk to Mike often online and by phone, last night I was able to help him with a Computer problem using Logmein.

I am so glad I was able to see Mikes graduation. It was nice that it was only a few hundred miles away from our home. I didn't get to see Cindy's and John's from Navy Boot Camp in 2007. They graduated a few months apart with Cindy being the first one of my kids to go into the service.

My son OS2 John is still with the USS Doyle in Mayport, FL and is doing well. He has been going out allot since getting a car a few months ago. John will be going to a school in Virginia for his job in the Navy in a few months.

As for me and my wife Vicki we are still here and alive. My wife Vicki has MS and SLE and has not bounced back after after being in the Hospital last September. Vicki has a great attitude and is doing her best to stay strong. That's about all for know. Hope everyone has a great week.

Talked to my daughter Cindy

Cindy with one of Josh's dogs

Cindy with dog

Cindy with a 150lb pound dog on her lap.

Cindy feeding a goat

Josh with one of his dogs on his lap

My daughter Cindy called me today. Cindy is in the Navy on the USS Abraham Lincoln. She spent Christmas with her friend Josh in Missouri. Cindy also just moved off base to her own appartment that she is sharing with another girl in the Navy. She sent me some pictures today. :)

Cindy says, Dad the small dog on my lap and Joshs' is Keoki. The large dog is 150Lbs lol and his name is Buddy and the goat is Billy =) My roomie is Bridget (ABE3).

And Cindy is an (FC3)., I am very proud of her. :)

Merry Christmas

Good morning and Merry Christmas. We opened our Christmas presents yesterday and had our traditional Christmas eve quiche for dinner. Today we woke up to snow so now we have a very white Christmas. We are going to start cooking the Turkey soon and just stay in and stay warm today. Hope all of you have a nice Christmas.

John & Mike are both here

Mike on left and John on right

Good morning everyone. Our sons John & Mike are both here for the holidays. John got in yesterday about noon after driving up from Florida. Mike got in the day before yesterday from Fort Leonard Wood, Mo after I picked him up. John & Mike haven't seen each other in 7 years but they have talked on the phone several times. Mike is in the Army and John in the Navy. John took a much needed nap yesterday afternoon and after a dinner of Lasagna they went out together and played pool until late. I was asleep when they got in last night but It's really nice to see them together. I'm really enjoying them.

Getting ready for Christmas

Our sons John and Mike are both coming home for Christmas this year. My wife Vicki decorated the house and has things all ready for them. Mike comes home this Friday from Fort Leonard Wood, Mo, and John will be driving up starting Friday morning from Mayport Naval Base in Florida and should be here Saturday. We're really looking forward to having them both for Christmas. This will be the first Christmas they have spent together in 7 years.