Update on Dad, and a card request

Here is an update/card request for my dad. I know some of this is redundant information, but I thought I'd just put it all together for you.

On December 8 he had a minor heart attack and had a stent put on the December 10th, and was scheduled to have triple bypass surgery on sometime around the middle of January. Due to the procedure, Dad was not able to go to my brother's wedding -- in Virginia, they live in Wisconsin -- and that was really, really hard on him.

Last night, Dad was having some chest pain and so Mom brought him to the emergency room. They decided to keep him overnight for observation. When the doctor came in this morning, he decided to keep Dad in the hospital until the surgery, which will be moved up -- we are waiting to hear back from the surgeon on that one.

My poor dad....he is going to be in the hospital on his birthday, January 1, waiting for open heart surgery, which will probably be on January 2...although we are not sure yet.
ANYWAYS - Dad is feeling pretty sad at the thought of being in the hospital for at least the next week and a half. My family is getting together a card shower and I was wondering -- Would you be so kind as to help us out??? I/we/he would really really appreciate it!!
Cards can be sent to:

James McMillen

c/o Saint Clare's Hospital

Room 2373

400 Ministry ParkwayWeston, WI 54476

A couple of hints:
Dad is a very conservative Baptist pastor

• His name is James, but he goes by Freddy
• His favorite color is blue
• Dad grew up on a farm and LOVES horses

Most imporantly, we appreciate your prayers during this time. The Lord has given our family some very specific challenges to deal with, but God's grace is MORE THAN SUFFICIENT to meet our needs.

Thanks so much. I will be sure to keep you updated on the status of how things are going.

Blogging from the hospital

But don't worry - I'm not the sick one. Dad was having some chest pain that wouldn't go away yesterday, so Mom took him to the emergency room. They decided to keep him overnight for observation....which is probably a good thing. If nothing else, he will be seeing the surgeion this morning, which will take the place of his January 3 appointment. We are hoping that they will schedule his surgery now instead of having to wait. We appreciate your prayers for Dad...he is having a lot of stress with the whole surgery thing, I think. Well...I don't really blame him. I was nervous when I went and got my wisdom teeth extracted. I can't imagine what it would be like to wait for triple bypass surgery. Eeek!!

In other news, our family had a wonderful Christmas. On Christmas Eve, Mom and I watched Cynthia because her mommy and daddy had to go to work. That was so much fun -- Cynthia is such a cute baby. No, really -- she is. ANYWAYS.....after everyone was off work, we went over to Josh and Shannon's house and had a very yummy dinner. Shannon made pork chops with this savory gravy stufff, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Super tasty!! Then, we all told the Christmas story to Cynthia. Each person told her part of it, and we passed her around. It was fun. Cynthia (and everyone else, too) got to open her presents.

On Christmas Day, we had a big turkey dinner at Mom and Dad's house. Yummy! After dinner, we played Clue DVD and had more trauma with Dad and his heart....he wasn't feeling very well then, and we ended up calling his doctor, who adjusted one of his medications some.

Yesterday (Wednesday) I got to stay with Cynthia all day. She and I had a pajama party all day -- it was soo much fun!! I'm sure you uncles and aunts will understand this -- but I just love that little girl so much. I don't even know how to describe it. She is soooo adorable!! It's been fun to watch her over the past two weeks or so that we've been together. She is really holding her head up very well now, and has discovered her hands. When someone talks to Cynthia, she tries to move her mouth and do the same thing. It's soooo funny!! She is always smiling, and then when someone talks to her she gets an EVEN BIGGER smile. What a little heart breaker. I'm so happy for Josh and Shannon -- they really have a very sweet and happy baby.

Well, I guess that's all for now. I don't have my camera with at the hospital, or I would post some pics. Have a great day, though!!

Talk about your white Christmas!!

Yesterday -- Christmas Eve Eve -- we had a GINORMOUS snowstorm. I never heard how much officially, but we were definately snowed in for the day. They cancelled church and everything.

BUT, Mom and I had a very nice snow day. We lounged around on the chouches and watched TV most of the day -- but that was only after we didn't get up again until lunch time. To keep up our strength, we managed to work in a couple pieces of cake and some leftover ham and popcorn and cereal and popcicles and candy for snacks....um, I think you get the point here. Talk about a busy day!! Although...we did get up for a while and work on our Christmas cards. They turned out really cute, but I havne't gotten any picstures yet.

Today, Mom and I are babysitting Cynthia. We gave her a bath...that was really fun, but now I smell like a baby -- which is very distracting. It makes me want to go get the acutal baby and sniff her 'cause I know she smells sooo good!!!

I'll leave you with some pictures I took of the snowstorm from yesterday. Enjoy...and Merry Christmas!

What is up with me

Well..a lot has happened in the past couple of weeks. As I mentioned a while back, my dad had a heart attack about two weeks ago now....wow -- it seems like a lot longer than that! He is doing ok for the most part. They are in the process of adjusting his medication, so there are some minor problems related to that. Apparently, one of his medications (simvastatin) was keeping his blood pressure too low, but that's getting much better now. They are planning to do triple bypass surgery, probably sometime around the end of February. In the meantime, we all appreciate your prayers. I think the stress is kind of getting Dad down a little bit. He is very, very limited as to what he can do and stuff like that.

I also have a little bit of an update on my job situation. Since I got home, a week ago, I was able to go and visit the church in Ohio. It was a very pleasant trip down and back, and I enjoyed visiting the ministry there. I had been praying about it quite a bit and just did not feel peace about going there if they had offered me the job. Then, I got an e-mail last evening telling me they did not feel the Lord leading me there. So, that settled that.

As it stands right now, I am planning to stay in Virignia...but that leaves me with a few challenges, too. Namely, I don't have a job or a place to live....nothing major....riiiight!! LOL!! So, I am praying that the Lord will show me exactly what He wants me to do. I am able to stay with my cousin, Marilyn, and her husband, Karl, for a short amount of time...but definately not on a long-term basis. So, I've been applying for jobs in Virginia Beach, Richmond, and the Fredericksburg area. I figure that if I'm going to move, any of those places would be viable options. Also, I am seriously considering a drive down to Greenville, SC, to check out the job market there. I have a friend who would let me stay with her if I needed to....so that's an option as well. I appreciate your prayers that the Lord will lead me exactly where He wants me to go. The only thing I"m pretty sure of right now is that moving back to Wisconsin would not be a wise choice...and my family agrees with me unanimously.

Well, there is how things sound. Above all, though, I know that the Lord has a plan for all of this. He is in control and knows exactly what He is doing in my life...even though it seems a little scary and uncertain.

The Wedding

Well....here are some wedding pictures. I hope you enjoy them. The wedding was so beautiful....I loved every minute of it!!

Mark and Krystina -- congratulations! I am so happy for you both.

Mark and Krystina's Wedding Rehersal

Well....tonight was the wedding rehersal. Here are the pictures that I took. They aren't all the highest quality....I'm still trying to get used to my digintal camera. But, some of them are ok. There are also some pictures from our family dinner on Thursday evening.

Dad and Josh -- we really miss you and wish you could be here!!!

Enjoy!!

Ups and Downs

Well....It's been a really interesting few days since Friday. To start, I got laid off from my job on Friday. The layoff is effective the end of December, so I will be getting two more paychecks...so that's good for me. Plus, it is an answer to prayer in some bizarre sort of way. I've really been struggling with my job, and praying that the Lord would show me what He wants me to do...including helping me to be more content, especially if it would be His will for me to stay working there. Well, this is definately clear that I don't need to stay at the "current" job. So, that is a praise. I got my stuff packed up and out of the house I was living in -- I've been staying with my boss and his family -- on Saturday. The Lord provided me some friends to help move. That was a HUGE BLESSING....!!!!!



Then, Saturday morning, my dad went to the emergency room. It turns out he had a mild heart attack. They did a catheterization (spelling help !!) today and found several blockages. The doctors put in one stent in one artery that was 100% blocked. Dad is going to have triple bypass surgery in about four weeks. Scary!! The doctor said that the only thing that kept him from having a major heart attack is that there was one artery that wasn't blocked. I'm so thankful to the Lord that He allowed my dad to get to the hospital on time, and protected him from something even more serious.

On the positive side, I am staying with my cousin, Marilyn, for the week. I'm glad that she is close and I have a place to stay. I loooove coming up here -- was here on my birthday and Thanksgiving and last weekend for Krystina's wedding shower. I didn't ever really know Marilyn very much growing up -- she is my dad's first cousin, and she lived away from where we did for the most part. But, it has been really nice to get to know her. Marilyn and Karl's house feels so much like home to me, and they have a WONDERFUL doggie...Sam, who is my FAVORITE redhead!!

PLUS Marilyn let me spread my stamping stuff out all over the kitchen table. So, I was able to indulge in some stamping therapy. How nice to play with my toys again!! I love stamping so much (duh!) and just haven't had the time to do it lately.

Check out my Splitcoast Stampers blog HERE to find out more details about the cards I posted.

Have a happy night!!

I went to the shower, but I didn't get wet

.....because it was Krystina's wedding shower.
No frills....I'm ready for bed, but here are the pics......