Another Brent update

Well, I broke down yesterday and called the recruiter for an update on Brent. It's hard to continue to hang on to the "no news is good news" thing when you know your child is not feeling well. I'm glad I did. I learned lots...

Brent was a "heat casualty" with exertional heat stroke. His core temperature was 107! It was relieving (sort of) to hear that it happens often and that the drill instructors are very aware of the symptoms and get the recruits help quickly. He has spent the last week in sick bay. It sounded like he's fine, but as a precaution they keep patients for a week after heat stroke. Today or tomorrow he'll be medically evaluated and hopefully released to a new battalion and new platoon. That's good news. And sad news.

It's sad because according to the recruiter, Brent was doing exceptionally well in his platoon. He was demonstrating leadership skills and had been appointed to a leadership role within the platoon. His drill instructors were disappointed to see him go down and have him leave the group because they were impressed with him. I was told that Brent is "a fine young man who will be missed." That was fun to hear! :) It could be hard to break into a new platoon and return to the leadership role he had in his old platoon, something he needs in order to achieve some of his goals as a Marine. But we'll see. I know God has plans for Brent; we just have to be patient and watch what happens.

In the meantime, the information did NOT solve one problem around here. Ryan and Logan have gone totally nuts with the drawings, and now I have probably 40 sheets of paper waiting to be sent to Brent. They still don't understand why I haven't mailed them (no address yet) and continue to insist that addressing it like this:

Brent Kassebaum
the hospital
the Marines

will work! Oh to be 4 or 5 again and have life be so simple....

just because

Fun to see how much they look alike.

sigh...

We're hanging on to "no news is good news," meaning that while it would appear that Brent was NOT well enough to rejoin his platoon over the weekend, he's also not sick enough for us to be contacted. We've heard nothing since Thursday early evening...

I'm trying hard to not worry, to continue to trust, to keep my focus where it belongs. In the meantime, Ryan and Logan have colored enough 'pictures' (and I use that term loosely!!) to wallpaper the entire barracks! They're a touch frustrated that I haven't mailed them to Brent yet and are having a hard time understanding that I don't have an address. They keep telling me to "just send it to the hospital!!" I'm back to writing a paragraph or two every day, waiting for notification of his new address so I can send him mail again.

Thanks for your continued prayers, for Brent AND for us!

Brent update

Well, Brent called a second time yesterday, once he'd been moved to the medical unit. It was the official, scripted call letting us know that he had arrived safely, that his graduation date would be changed, and that we needed to stop sending mail until further notice. Much easier to understand him this time since there weren't 80 people yelling in the background!! He and I did have a few minutes to chat, which was nice. The thing both Jim and I noticed when we talked to him is that while he sounded disappointed and discouraged, he did not sound particularly ill. That's a good thing.

After much thought and research, I have decided it's entirely possible that he hit a wall. From the schedule we have, it shows that both Tuesday and Thursday this week were immunization days. They give those guys DPT, Polio, MMR, Influenza, and Yellow Fever shots! Brent did not handle immunizations well as a small child, almost always ending up with a fever, but the MMR and the DPT both knocked him for a loop. And when Jim had a DPT in college (after a run-in with a metal lathe...) he ran a temp in the 103-104 range for several days. The next time he needed a tetanus shot (after a run-in with a circular saw) he asked them to only give the tetanus portion. No reaction. The doctor told Jim that many people have trouble with the DP part of the shot, and in adults the reaction can be a high fever.

Add to the immunizations this week some intense martial arts training in heavy gear, the heat in San Diego, and the fact that these guys are probably beyond exhausted and you have a recipe for physical breakdown. It is our hope and prayer that 24 to 36 hours in the medical unit will have him feeling well enough to be cleared for camp, and that he will be able to head out to Camp Pendleton with his platoon tomorrow. We'll see...at some point they'll let us know.

Oh! And you know what God did last week? It's pretty fun. On Christmas Eve, we sat in front of a young couple and their children at the service at church. We didn't have an opportunity to introduce ourselves, but Jim indicated that he wanted to the next time we saw them. They sat behind us again on Sunday morning, so after the service we chatted a bit. And guess what? The young man is a Marine! He's stationed here in the local area, working as a recruiter right now. His wife is a former Marine, and she works with a gal we know whose daughter attends school with our girls. We don't know Brent's recruiter because he's in Boise, so we really haven't had anyone to contact with questions. Until now--just days before we might really need it. As always, God provides what we need when we need it. Parents are told to contact their Marine's recruiter if the recruit gets sick at boot camp, because he/she can help you navigate the MRP process. Now we have someone we can contact! He's not Brent's recruiter, but I know he'd help us out. It's fun to see God's provision.

Thanks for praying with us! Your comments and emails have meant a lot. We are blessed beyond measure, and you are appreciated!!

Brent--please pray!

We got a call today from Brent. He's VERY ill and is being sent to the medical unit (essentially the hospital). He's got a temp over 104...not feeling well at all. This will delay his graduation at least one week. Pray that he won't be discouraged, that he will get well quickly, and that he'll be able to pick up quickly and easily with a new platoon. Pray too for his momma, that she will be able to deal with her baby being so sick and so far from home. :(

My sister in law has a sign in her kitchen. I wish I'd taken a picture of it when we were there at Thanksgiving, but it says

"I thought I wanted a career. It turns out all I really want is a paycheck."

Uh huh.

a new 'Ryan-ism'

Tonight we had brussels sprouts with dinner. Now, Ryan is insistent that he doesn't like them, even though he's never tried them. So tonight I put a teeny tiny sprout on his plate and asked him to eat it. (Hailey got one too, about the same size. She doesn't like them. But she's tried them before so she knows for sure. Fortunately, she ate hers without grumbling, awesome big sister that she is. Sets a great example!) He stuck his fork in it, wrinkled up his nose, and stuck it in his mouth. After chewing for a minute, he smiled and said...


"Can I have some more muscle sprouts please? I like these green things!"

Goofball! Muscle sprouts. Somehow I think that name will stick. Might even be interesting enough to get big brother (Brent, not Logan. Logan LOVES brussels muscle sprouts.) to try one someday. Maybe. But I doubt it.

well, now...THAT didn't work out quite right!

(dressed for church, and having snack)

Otherwise known as "My momma told me there'd be days like this!" or "The day Mom's brain took a vacation without her!"

I have been cooking Christmas Eve dinner for over 20 years. Our family tradition is fairly simple: put the lasagna in the oven on timed bake, go to the 5:30 service at church, come home and enjoy dinner, then watch "It's a Wonderful Life." Somewhere today, though, my brain took a very long walk and forgot to check back in.

Usually I buy frozen lasagna at Costco. Most often, it's about efficiency--many years there are 25 of us and making that much lasagna on Christmas Eve is hard with a house full of guests. This year, though, was only the 7 of us, so I made homemade lasagna. So easy, and such fun with Logan's help! :) About 4pm, I decided I'd set the oven for the evening so that when it was time to go, all I had to do was pop the lasagna in and leave. Uh....yeah. I got the time set correctly, but it seems that either I didn't set the oven temperature or I inadvertently hit a button I shouldn't have. Problem is, I didn't know that. When it was time to go I slid the dish in the oven, stuck the bread near the oven vent so it would warm, and got in the car. The little guys had a small snack just before we left, but I knew they'd be starving when we got home. They don't do dinner at 7 very well! The Christmas Eve service was beautiful and the boys loved the candles. They're finally big enough to hold their own during the lighting, and they thought that was pretty special. Once the service was over, we headed to the car. On the way home, Ryan kept asking when we would eat, saying, "Mommy! I'm HUNGRY!!" I assured them that dinner would be ready when we got home, and that as soon as they got their hands washed we would eat. I only needed to slice the bread...or so I thought.

Yep. We got home to an uncooked lasagna sitting in the oven. OY! Now what? Do we eat bread and salad now, as appetizers, then eat in an hour when the lasagna is cooked? Or do we just wait? A vote amongst the big people said we wait. I turned on the oven and busied the boys with books and games. At almost 8 we finally sat down to a delicious dinner. Traditional? Well, almost. The food was right; the timing was awful! That's okay--the boys may not remember, but the girls will sure have fun razzing me about the night I couldn't get it right. And for years to come, we'll laugh about the uncooked dinner waiting for us after our Christmas Eve service.

Although it's quiet here with only 7 of us, I've never been so glad that we don't have company this year as I was tonight! Somehow I can't imagine dealing with 25 hungry people. Next year I'll have to have someone double check for me that things are correct, since next year's a Kassebaum extended family Christmas again. Can't afford to make that mistake twice.

Given the way my cooking has gone today, I'm almost afraid to tackle tomorrow. Dinner for 13 (not a big deal!) of rib roast, mashed potatoes, and green salad. I ought to be able to handle the salad just fine. But is my family really sure they trust me with that roast???

They say...

...a picture's worth a thousand words. But THIS is worth WAAAAAYYYY more than that. So happy today...




(I edited the pictures for our protection. And Brent's. Sorry 'bout that...)

I Need a Silent Night

This about sums it up...

December comes then disappears
Faster and faster every year
Did my own mother keep this pace
Or was the world a different place?

When people stayed home wishing for snow
Watching three channels on their TV
Look at us now rushing around
Trying to buy Christmas peace.

I need a silent night, a holy night
To hear an angel voice through the chaos and the noise
I need a midnight clear, a little peace right here
To end this crazy day with a silent night.

Watch and listen to this Amy Grant song here