Still Waiting...

So, the trip to Portland did not happen as we thought. Dad's doctors are still conferring over what they will do next. So for now we are in a holding pattern. Instead of a trek to Portland, I spent the day once again at the plant helping with production. It's been a long two days, and it looks like it's going to be a long week. We are looking forward to our vacation to Shasta lake in 2 weeks!

A Very Long Week...

Finally an opportunity to sit and catch-up. It's been one heck of a week. Some of you probably know that my Dad has been experiencing poor health for the past 4 months. He has had numerous trips to the VA hospital in Roseburg and in Portland.
His most recent trip to the emergency room was for a kidney stone attack which warranted a CT scan to determine the location and size of the stone. It was determined that the stone would safely pass on it's own, however the radiologist discovered something of much greater concern. He saw what appeared to be a 6 cm tumor at the head of my Dad's pancreas. A very grim discovery indeed, which carries a poor prognosis. Prayers began immediately. A second CT scan in Portland revealed that there was NO cancer, but there was inflammation that was most likely being caused by a fistula somewhere between the pancreas and the bile duct. A huge sigh of relief went through the Charest family. We have all experienced the gamut of emotions this week. Throughout it all however, we have trusted that God would take care of everything.
Tuesday, I will once again be in Portland with Mom and Dad as we meet with doctors to determine what will need to be done to rectify the fistula issue. Thank you to all who have been praying.
The pictures above were taken in Portland from the skybridge that passes between the Portland VA hospital and the OHSU hospital. The silver 'orb' is the tram that runs from the OHSU center in town up to the OHSU at the top of the hill. The picture of the parking lot was taken by me holding the camera over the edge of the platform where the tram picks up passengers. I am quite the acrophobiac and there was no way I was getting too close to the edge.

The rest of the story to come...

Camping...

So we decided to get away for a quick overnight camping trip to the coast. I always enjoy just hanging out with my family. No agendas, no expectations, just us. The weather was very pleasant reaching a high of 75. As is typical with the Oregon coast, it was windy, but we made the best of it.

Oh the memories we make!

Another weekend has come and gone. It seems like we packed a lot in this past weekend. Our church had their annual white water rafting trip on the McKenzie river. Our friends, Dave and Kay Smith joined us. You discover some very interesting things about people when you spend a day rafting. For instance, who knew Dave was such a terror with a water cannon? I think our pirate flag suited our boat well. We were heavily armed and showed no mercy. Dave will claim it was self-defense. Yes, yes..of course it was self-defense. The jolly roger flag meant nothing. ;-) We were so pleased that our friends were such good sports about the whole adventure. Katie and Kay were able to bond in a whole new way that only girls can appreciate. In the end, we all managed to stay in the boat, but not an inch of us was dry! I will post a link soon with some pictures.


In other news: We received the news from the insurance today. Katie will get about $700 less than what she paid for her car. :-(
In the end, it was actually more than what they thought they would give her. Next week we shall once again be car shopping.

"17"

The picture on the bottom was taken on her actual birthday. The top pictures were taken Saturday night before she left for a 60's theme party for a friend who is turning 16. She was somewhat in 'costume' but didn't go overboard.

Happy Birthday to our Girl!

In my humble opinion the world became a better place on August 7th, 1991 at precisely 2:18 p.m.
We never cease to remember how blessed we are to have Katie in our lives. I consider those who have had the chance to know her very fortunate. She exudes joyfulness and generally brings laughter wherever she goes.
The above pictures are a few 'snippets' from the day. The page from my journal, my first look at her, and her footprints.

17 and a 1/2 years ago...

So..can you spot the baby in the ultrasound? The only time Katie ever sucked her thumb. Also pictured a very young Momma and a very handsome Daddy. (He's still handsome!)

What did 17 look like?

So, with Katie turning 17 in a couple of days, I thought I would dig through some pictures and see if I could come up with one of me at 17. So here it is. Funny, I think I may still have that haircut. LOL. My precious peek-a-poo "Browser" is with me. Oh and yes, I really am that tan. I need to wait 2 more days to post Katie's comparison pic. I didn't/don't even come close in the photogenic department. She must get that from Mark.
I'm going to start looking now to see if I can find Mark at 13 to compare to Daniel.

Oh..the tests of life...

Anyone got a cheat sheet?
The insurance company called yesterday to ask us to release Katie's car into their hands. When we inquired as to where they were taking her they said they had to move her to a place in Portland. Upon further investigation we learned that Delilah was being moved to Coparts, her final resting ground. There she will most likely be torn apart and her parts sold. When Mark was explaining it all to Katie she said, "So..basically she's going to be a 'donor' for other cars. LOL! Yes, Katie, that's it exactly.
Sadly it's very doubtful that Katie will receive compensation for Delilah equal to what she paid for her. Talk about adding insult to injury. So now, through no fault of her own, Katie is without a car, is going to be out cash that she saved for years and will have to once again hunt for a reliable car that she can afford. I'm not sure life should be this hard two days before ones birthday.
((((Katie)))))

Katie's Car

So, I think it was just about a year ago when I posted about Katie's 'new' car. Sadly, Delilah has already met with her unfortunate demise. Katie was attending a summer party at the home of a friend. She had parked Delilah out in front of the house along with several of her friends' cars. She and the friends had walked down to a nearby park and were about to begin a game of 'hide and seek', when one of her friend's cell-phone rang. The people back at the house were looking for Katie. When Katie answered the phone, she learned that someone had hit her parked car. She hurried back and found her car had been hit on the rear quarter panel and subsequently pushed 4 feet into the parked car in front of hers. Delilah sustained both rear end and front end damage. Regretfully there was no saving her. Katie was devastated. She had saved for so long to buy her first car. She had done everything right, was a safe and conscientious driver, but alas.. nothing is ever guaranteed in this life. We brought the fair maiden home from the party in tears.

August..and the summer is passing fast

It's always a surprise to me just how fast the summer goes by. The morning chill in the air reminds me that fall is coming fast.
My desk continues to pile up with the must do's before September gets here. Hopefully the must do's won't turn into the 'shoulda dones'.