Mom Update

Well God is certainly a God of miracles. When we left the hospital last night I'll admit I was hopeless and actually woke up several times last night with thoughts that were very dark to say the least. When we arrived here this morning she was sitting up, with no oxygen and sleeping. I spoke to the nurse and she said while mom still has a long way to go she wasn't critical and in fact they were waiting for a regular room to become available so they can move her out of ICU. I can't tell you the weight that lifted off my chest at that moment. Thank you so much to all of you for your calls, your prayers and your thoughts.

Mom

My mom is not doing well right now, we rushed her to the emergency room last night and tonight they are moving her from the hospital she's currently in to one that is better equipped to handle her problems. I did get to meet with her doctor tonight and she pointedly told me that mom is very sick. The list is long and the situation is such that need to try and clear up one thing so they can treat another. I really do believe God is sovereign and am trusting him (be it through gritted teeth) and his will right now. I know he can heal and will heal her the question is will the healing come to her physical body or will she be completely healed and receive the new body and reward that is awaiting her? Please pray for strength for Mom, Shasta (she truly is my rock and I would have come apart at the seams today if not for her), me and the rest of my family. My brother Dana is scheduled to fly in tomorrow evening and at least he will be able to be here with us for how ever this plays out. So pray for safe travel for him.

Can't Have Nuthin'

My friend JC will immediately recognize the title of this post, because well, it's like his favorite saying ever. We used to tease him that we were gonna have "He never had nuthin" engraved on his tombstone. I took mom to a vascular surgeon this week and as I usually do I take a book to read while I'm waiting on her to finish her visit. I've been reading Comes A Horseman by Robert Liparulo and was about 10 pages from the finish when she finished. So I collect our stuff, got in the car and headed out. I get home and look in the back of the car and my book isn't there. I had left it at her doctors, in Hagerstown!!! 10 PAGES FROM THE END!!! One of the first things that popped into my head was JC saying "can't have nuthin." and I chuckled. Fortunately one of the office staff realized it was mine and put it behind the desk. I can pick it up next Tuesday when she goes for her MRI.

A music recommendation for you. If you have any appreciation of rap/hiphop music you really should check Of Gods and Girls by Mr. J. Medeiros. It's a very good album and the song Constance is one of those songs that really deserves to be a hit but probably won't get played on mainstream radio because it's too Christian and Christian radio won't touch it because it deals with child porn.

Blowin The Dust Off

Ok, so it's been a little bit and quite a few things have happened.

1. I got to drive an 18-wheeler!!! Yessireebobber I did, I did. Muffin and I had breakfast with my in-laws a bit ago and on the way back Steve says "hey Dwayne you wanna drive the truck." And I'm like "YEAH!" and despite a minor protest from Muffin I was up in the cockpit and drove that sucker a whole 100 yards or so. Don't laugh, cause that's the farthest I've ever driven a stick shift. It was pretty awesome. Muffin and Flo stood safely by our car in the OTHER parking lot.

2. A bit of melancholy news today. CCM magazine is going the way of buy 4 get 1 free stickers and a lot of the other things that I remember from early days as a rabid fan of christian music. They are ceasing publication of their print edition with the April '08 issue.

And to wrap things up I'll leave you guys with my 5 favorite specialty coffee drinks.

1. Starbucks Gingerbread Latte - oh my this is just liquid crack. The best coffee drink evah! If you want to take the calorie hit, make that thing a Breve' and feel your pants get tighter.

2. Brew Mountain Coffee's Maple Latte - Just a simple latte made with maple syrup but they make it to perfection. I don't get by there nearly enough since my friends Randy and Mara moved out of Purcellville. Really nice atmosphere with great friendly people.

3. Panera Bread House Latte - Ok, I KNOW they make it from a mix but that's probably why, without fail, the thing taste so dang good every time I get it. I don't like that 16 oz. is as large as it goes, though.

4. The Coffee Table (Frederick, MD) Iced White Chocolate Mocha - A really well done, tasty iced drink.

5. The Lost Dog "Vanilla Wet Dog." Espresso, seltzer, cream and a slice of orange. An acquired taste but ohhhh so yummy for my tummy.

Honorable mentions Daily Grind Iced-C Iced coffee (when they have it) amd Starbucks Egg Nog Latte

Feel free to comment with your faves

Remodeling

Ok, well I decided I wanted a new look for the blog so I made a few changes. Let me know what y'all think. I added a play list from FineTune, just click the play button the widget to the right and enjoy some tunes while you surf. Of course you'll have to open a new tab but it's worth it :D

So I finally got Kathie her prize for winning the Song Lyric Sunday contest. The really cool thing was when I called Brian from Black Dog to order her coffee he said "since it was for a contest, I'll just donate the coffee." Which is yet another reason to recommend that you coffee lovers send business their way. Not only is the coffee very good, but every time I've bought or ordered from them it's been an awesome experience.

Now for a couple of sports rants:

1. How about those Mountaineers? I will admit that prior to the Fiesta Bowl I honestly thought beating Oklahoma would difficult at best. Especially after their dismal showing against Pitt and with the coaching turmoil of December. Well, boy did they prove me and a lot of other folks wrong. The best part may have been the calls back and forth with my brother and nephew in Tennessee. They mostly went "DID YOU SEE THAT!!!???" We do that alot when watching sports and my wife finds it hilarious.

2. I have mixed feelings about the Mitchell Report regarding performance enhancing drugs in baseball. I think it's sad that already exceptional athletes feel they need to add an edge to their already exceptional talent. But it's hard to trust the credibility of the report since George Mitchell is a paid executive of the Boston Red Sox. The words conflict of interest come to mined. It's even harder to trust when there are no positive tests cited and the 2 witnesses that are testifying, are doing so to avoid legal trouble. I read today that congress plans to call Roger Clemens and several of the other players named in the report to testify. Excuse me, but how in the heck is this important enough to warrant a congressional inquiry. Why not investigate gas price fixing, lowering taxes or any of the million other things that actually have an impact on the average person in this country?