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.  :)

Happy Birthday Cindy

I want to wish my Daughter Cindy a Very Happy 24th Birthday. Cindy is aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln right now. We love you Cindy. Happy Birthday Sweetheart.

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.

Good morning

Sunrise this morning

Good morning. It looks like it's going to be another hot day here in South East Kansas. I woke up this morning and the first thing I read was "HEAT INDICES.BETWEEN 105 & 110 DEGREES WILL AFFECT THE ENTIRE AREA FOR THIS AFTERNOON & EARLY EVENING." I know I was complaining this past winter and said that I was looking forward to summer but this is not what I meant. :) Oh well, be careful what you ask for right? LOL

Yesterday I cleaned the house and gave myself a haircut. I am going to do some work this afternoon and then try to get our lawn mowed. I'm trying to get everything done before I go to the hospital Monday. Right now I'm still on my first cup of coffee and am craving a cigarette. I think I'll go outside and have a smoke.

To my daughter Cindy on the USS Abraham Lincoln, hope your doing well and hope you have a great day. Love you, Dad

Hi, for my daughter Cindy. I will start using this blog again. :)

Hi, for my daughter Cindy. I will start using this blog again. :)

Just a short post today. I have been having chest pains for a while now. I had a cardiac stress test several years ago and it was fine. I finally saw a Cardiologist yesterday and he wanted to see what was going on. He ordered an Echocardiogram, & Cardiac Cath for me Monday the 16th. I'm glad this is getting done, I figure that no matter what I will be better off than what I am now. He will either find no problems and that would be great or he will find a problem and fix it and thats great too. I'll type more later or tomorrow. I promise Cindy. Love, Dad

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.

We had a busy weekend here in Kansas

Good morning all, we had a busy weekend here in Kansas. We decided at the last minute to have a yard sale and get rid of all the junk in the garage. We started Friday afternoon and ended the yard sale yesterday at about noon when it started to rain. I had cleaned out the garage last month and had thrown away all the things that I thought were trash and kept stuff that I thought we should try to sell. Our son Mike helped me bring all the stuff out to the front of the house using his station wagon Friday afternoon and that helped allot. We did get rid of allot of stuff that was just clutter and the garage has allot more room in it now.

I talked to our Navy kids, John and Cindy this weekend and they are both doing well. John has been staying in a hotel on base and enjoying a big comfortable bed while his ship is in port. Cindy has been busy getting ready for her almost year long stint an an IA in Iraq. Cindy posted her schedule "Leave here 27Sep, Go to San Diego. 05Oct Fort Sill, OK, 08Nov Fort Jackson, SC, 30Nov Fort Sill, OK 20Dec Fort Lewis, WA 28Jan Kuwait 08Feb Iraq" I am hopeful that I will be able to see her when she is at Fort Sill, OK being that it is only about 300 miles from us.

Our son Mike is still working on a temp basis at Russell Stover Candies in Iola, KS and is reaping some of the benefits of his job. He hasn't taken them up on the free candy yet ( we wish he would ) but he did come home with a free watermelon last week. They were giving out watermelons to all the employees when they left work one day last week and we are still eating it. :) Mike goes into the Army in one month ( Sept 15th ).

That's about all from here. It's just going to be a relaxing Sunday, at least I hope so. My crohns disease is acting up this morning and I feel like crap if you know what I mean. :) Bye for now, I'll write more soon.