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Home Life & Family

July24th

Weekend on the Farm

Author: Casey | Posted in: Home Life & Family, Travel

Our family went up to visit my grandparents in Gravette, AR this weekend. We enjoyed getting to spend time with my grandparents and they just LOVED getting to see Caleb.

All of the relatives on my mom’s side live on a large farm near my grandparents’ house. So there were plenty of aunts, uncles, and cousins for Caleb to meet also. We didn’t do a whole lot, but we got to spend some good time with my granddad, who has been pretty sick lately.

Caleb has now met all four sets of his great-grandparents, and hopefully he will have many more wonderful memories with all of them…

» View some more photos
July20th

Our Family Mission

Author: Casey | Posted in: Featured, Home Life & Family, Spiritual

Mary Beth and I sat down last night to design our Family Mission Statement together. It took us a while to come up with an idea, but Mary Beth was the one who decided to use verbs to define how we wanted our family to be. We both sat at the computer for a little over an hour while I put some graphics together. It really was a 100% team effort!

I co-taught a class at church last fall based on the book by Stephen Covey, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families.” After the class was over, Mary Beth and I fully intended to write our Family Mission Statement together, but we never got around to it. So, we finally decided to “Put first things first” and come up with something.

I hope this will be something that we can hang on our wall and live by for years to come. I hope our great-grandchildren will look at this someday and be inspired by the mission that we have chosen to live by. I pray that it will truly be a blessing for our family!
July11th

Meet Cammie

Author: Casey | Posted in: Home Life & Family

My niece, Cameron (or Cammie for short), was born yesterday and she weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz. Cory said that she practically walked out!

So, Caleb now has ANOTHER cousin to play with. Our family is so blessed to have such good relationships with all of our “distant” relatives. I grew up surrounded by dozens of cousins, which I loved (most of the time!). My prayer is that Caleb will also have many cousins on both sides of his family with which to play.

Send Brad & Cory your congratulations by leaving a comment on this post…

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July2nd

Four Generations

Author: Casey | Posted in: Home Life & Family, Spiritual

This morning, we were blessed to accompany my mom and dad as they returned to church for the first time since their accident. My dad seemed more like himself while we were worshipping; he even got up to thank everyone for all that the church has done for them over the past several weeks. It was an emotional morning for him after being away from his church family for about a month. We were so glad to be there with him, and Caleb was the well-behaved baby that he always is until he peed on his mom about 15 minutes before church was over. How do you recover from that when you’re sitting on the front row?! Fortunately, it dried quickly.

After church, the Picker men posed on the back porch. I feel so blessed to be part of the generations of Picker men that have served the Lord. I am grateful for all that my dad and my grandfather have taught me about being a man of God and hope to instill these same values in Caleb. I know that one day he will appreciate his wonderful heritage of faith.
July1st

Blessings Abound

Author: Casey | Posted in: Home Life & Family

My parents are both doing great at home, and life is starting to return to a state of normalcy. They received over 300 cards and several banners from friends and family while my dad was in the hospital. It’s just amazing to see the outpouring of love and consideration that have been shown to my family.

My dad is still on the IV feeding tube and he is eating a very limited diet. It’s going to be a long recovery, but I think he’s willing to do what it takes to get back to 100%. Again, thanks for all of your prayers, cards, and flowers. They have encouraged my parents a great deal!
June22nd

Home Sweet Home

Author: Casey | Posted in: Home Life & Family, Spiritual

My dad is finally back home! He was released from the hospital this morning, and he sounded very glad to be out of there. He’s still on the feeding tube, but at least he can relax in a comfortable setting.

A nurse will come by everyday to change out his fluids and check on him. His diet will still be pretty restricted, so he’ll just take it slow in the beginning. He’s pretty much just on clear liquids and maybe a few popsicles, but I know that everyday he will continue to improve and will eventually be able to eat everything he used to (With the Lord’s help!).

I’m so proud of my dad. I always knew that he was a very strong, persevering person, and to watch him over these past few weeks has just confirmed everything I always knew about him. I can’t even begin to imagine how hard of a struggle this has been for him, but I’m just so proud of the way that he has stayed positive and optimistic through the whole ordeal.

WE LOVE YOU DAD!!

Again, I just want to thank everyone for their constant prayers on behalf of my dad. I know that his healing is a direct result of your peitions to God. Our family thanks you!
June20th

JELL-O Time!

Author: Casey | Posted in: Home Life & Family, Spiritual

Well, on Saturday in the middle of the night my dad pulled out the drainage tube in his nose. He must have done it in his sleep because he said that he didn’t remember doing it. They also had him on some other medication that made him a little “loopy” so that might have contributed to it as well. After hearing this, the doctor decided just to wait and see how he responds without the tube. It’s been about 72 hours and he’s now doing great!

He had an X-Ray this morning to see how his intestines were healing, and after looking at the results, the doctor came back and told him that he was “Amazed”! He said that stuff was getting through and he could start drinking water and eating Jell-O! I’m sure my dad was SUPER excited to hear that news after not eating or drinking anything in over a week.

The doctor also said that he will probably be able to go home soon, but will still be on an IV and feeding tube for a while. He’ll keep waiting for everything to fully heal, but at least he’ll be able to rest at home. God just continues to answer all of our prayers, so don’t stop praying!
June15th

Slow and Steady Progress

Author: Casey | Posted in: Home Life & Family

Sorry for the lack of updates lately, but we’ve been pretty busy going to and from the hospital this week. The doctor has confirmed that my dad has an obstruction in his small intestines and that’s why he was so sick at home. He performed two surgeries on Sunday to remove some of the abrasions that were causing the obstruction and now my dad has been in the hospital recovering.

We went to see him again today and it was a pretty good day. The doctor said that he heard some slight rumbling in my dad’s digestive tract, which could mean that it is starting to function properly again. He got up and walked around several times today and has also been sitting in a chair from time to time.

When we went up to see him he was pretty tired, but when we put Caleb in the bed with him he really cheered up. Caleb was in a good mood and he really put on a show for his pops with all of his smiling and cooing.

I’ll try to keep updating more frequently as he gets better. We’re just going to keep praying that he has a full recovery and gets to come home soon!

» See more photos…
June10th

Two steps forward, One step back

Author: Casey | Posted in: Home Life & Family

Well, my dad’s back in the hospital. He has been really sick and unable to keep any fluids or food down, so we finally just decided to take him to the ER last night. He’s currently at North Side hospital and we’ve been visiting with him there today.

The doctor seems to think that he might have some kind of bowel obstruction that is keeping him from being able to keep anything down. He was really dehydrated and weak last night, but he’s feeling so much better today. We’ll know more when he has the CT scan in a little while, so I’ll keep everyone updated.

We’ve just been overwhelmed by all of the cards, flowers, food, and prayers from everyone. Once he gets over this little bump in the “road to recovery” I know he’ll start feeling so much better…
June7th

No More Motorcycles!

Author: Casey | Posted in: Home Life & Family

We went to see my parents in Atlanta and they both look great! Mary Beth made a little onesie for Caleb that got the message across: “We love you, but no more motorcycles.”

The Front

The Back

When we pulled up to their house, my dad and grandpa were sitting out in the front yard in lawn chairs! I was extremely amazed at how well both of them are doing. The Lord has truly answered many of our prayers. Thanks again to everyone for praying, sending flowers, and cards. They really made my parents feel loved and cared for.

» See a few more pictures…