Jackson loved putting the flags out for the 4th this year.

My flowers are so pretty this year. Since we had to take our trees down last year due to Ike coming through, we have soooo much more sun. I was able to plant lots of color.

Jackson, my little fish.

Swimming at Mowmaw Mary's

Snacktime!

Swimming at Mowmaw and Grandad's

For anyone who needs a good floaty, this thing is fantastic!!! I had a bodysuit for him and it rubbed his chin raw. Mary found this at Wal-mart in the sporting goods section. It is approved for a boat lifevest. He loves it and swims like a fish.

Jackson and Mama under the diving board. He loves to go to the deep end.

Too Cute!!!

Watch out Aunt Angela, Jackson is already telling him things to do. Look how sweet..Gavin is really listening to him.

Angela and Gavin came to see us the other day. Jackson just loves Gavin. He doesn't realize that he is just little, and thought that Gavin would like to rock in the rocking chair really fast and hard. They were really cute together. Gavin is growing sooo fast. He has changed a bunch since I took these. I'll have to get the new ones on here soon. We love you Gavin and come see us again soon.

I LOVE this grin!!! Looks just like his mommy!

Loving boys!!

Of course, Crazy Daisy has to be in the picture. She loves kids though!

July Wedding

Most July weddings are hot hot hot! Not this one. On July 18th, we headed over to Buckeye Lake. Eric's good friend got married at the Buckeye Lake Yacht Club. What a beautiful place to be married. It poured on our way over, stopped enough for the ceremony, and then poured during dinner, which was all outside. We did have an awesome rainbow during the ceremony and afterwards. It didn't even bother the bride or groom, they were very happy and we all had a great time.

Dave, waiting anxiously for his bride, with his brother Brian beside him.
Dave and Allison Thomas

Eric, Dave, Jon and Allison

The view from our seats. It was beautiful!

I was on facebook the other day, and a friend of mine, Christy, had uploaded her husband's picture and put it in these photos from years ago. So I decided I would do the same. I have laughed so hard at these pictures. The bad part about it is that our kids will do the same thing to themselves when they get older and laugh at our old "do's". The first one is my brother and me, he will kill me when he realizes what I've done

This one isn't too bad, I think this one is from 2000.

1992

1990

1984 Sorry, uploaded this one twice.

1976 I think I look like my mom in this, she had hair like this.

1972

1960

1952

Working world, here I come!!

Well, not sure if any of you know, but I got a job. I was hired by Coshocton City Schools for the Pre-school teaching assistant job at Central. I really wasn't wanting to work until Jackson was in school fulltime, but Eric has not found a job, so I had to find work. I am lucky enough that Beth Buker has taken Jackson. She is a wonderful person and I have heard nothing but good about her. She also goes to my church and it is such a blessing to know that a Christian is going to be with my son. That was very important to me. I have never left him with anyone but my in-laws, my parents or close friends. I took him today for the first time and he did fine. I think it was harder on me than him. I left him for about 2 hours. I met with the other teacher that will be in the room with me. She is awesome!! I think we will get along great. This is her first year at Coshocton. She has taught other places and she is glad to be able to not have to drive anywhere. I will only be working M-Th, which will be nice to have a three day weekend. We don't have any kids on Fridays. We will have 20!! three and four year olds!!..what have I gotten myself into? I have to keep telling myself that it will be good for Jackson to be with other kids, as much as it is killing me. I told Carrie to not worry if I was a little weepy the first week. I am very glad to be going to Central to work. The people are really great there and I will be excited to be a part of it. Wish me luck!!!

I was watering the other day and it was getting into the afternoon, so I was watering close to the roots so my flowers wouldn't burn. Out came a little snake. If you look closely towards my mum, you can see his head sticking out of the hole he climbed down. I'm not afraid of snakes, but it freaked me out a bit not knowing it was there.

Here are a couple of pics of the pets we have up in the back yard. A mama with her twin babies.

Better late than never...

Better late than never...
Well, I said I would update this weekend and here it is Monday and I'm just now updating...better late than never!!
JUNE 15, 2009:
On June 15th, we headed to The James around 4:30 in the morning. The drive over seemed to take an eternity. We just didn't know what we were in for and what to expect. After registering, we headed to the 4th floor to pre-op. After getting changed into the good ole' hospital attire, stuck a few times, iv's hooked up and being asked hundreds of questions...they asked me to step out of the area to put his epidural in. I really wanted to watch since I had one for my c-section, but they said that alot of people pass out and they didn't want to have to put me in a bed next to him. When I finally got to go back in, he was pretty relaxed and I don't think he remembers anything from that point on. We said good-bye and they wheeled him out of the room and through the "big double doors" that say, Operating Room, Do not enter, Proper Attire Required. I don't think I will ever forget the way I felt when those "big double doors" closed. In a few hours, we would be told whether he had cancer or not. What a surreal moment. Back to the atrium waiting area that I had been in during the last surgery. Penny, Ralph and Wendy were there with me this time. Around 9:25, a lady came over to me and said that Eric went into surgery at 9:19. I can't describe the feeling I had during that time. I was glad that I had people with me, which made the time pass a little easier...although, it still felt like forever. Around 11:10, I saw Dr. Ross come into the atrium. I went over right away and he told me the words that I wanted to hear. "We don't think it's cancer. It looks benign. We will still do some testing on it and want the mass to have different tests run to see what it is, but it's not looking like it is malignant. He is doing fine and someone will be calling to let you know what room he is in." I went over and told the family and just broke down. So many emotions had been running ramped through me and I had been trying to be strong through everything. I called my mom and couldn't even really get anything out because I was crying. I needed to let it out. Around 1:15, the lady came over and said that they were taking Eric to his room and we could head up there. He was in room 963. We arrived at the room before they had got there with him. When they arrived at the room, they said we could come in after they put him in the bed and transferred all the tubes and iv's and got his vitals. Finally, we were able to go in. He was pretty quiet. Again, he had the vent tube down his throat and was a bit raspy. The epidural was still in, which was distributing pain meds at a slow pace and was controlled and locked, and he had a hand pump for more pain meds. He also had the catheter in as well as his chest tube that was draining fluid off and around the lung. I told him that they didn't think it was cancer. I don't know if it really registered right away. He was very groggy and sleepy. Penny, Ralph and Wendy left and he slept for a bit. When he woke up, he was a bit nauseous and they gave him some Demerol. Around 5pm, they arrived with the "liquid diet" dinner. He did drink some broth and drank some soda, which came right back up. We think now that it was the Demerol. Because he had some at another point and he felt sick again. Around 9:30, I headed to Stephen and Sarah's to shower and grab a bite to eat. I showered and then left to go back to the hospital. Well, Stephen and Sarah had just moved not too long ago to Westerville, and I'm not too familiar with the area yet....lost I was! I didn't make the turn I was supposed to and ended up in an area I really wouldn't want my worst enemy to go. It was also 12:30 in the morning. Construction was started that same day on 315, so most of the on ramps were closed. Then I got on 315 north and needed to go 315 south. It was crazy. I finally got back to the hospital around 1:30 in the morning. No sleep that night!! The chair in Eric's room did lay back, if you were 300 pounds, it may stay back. I didn't have enough weight to keep it reclined, so every time I tried to lay back, it would spring back up. It was not a fun night.
JUNE 16, 2009:
I had now been up for about 30 hours. I really don't know how I functioned...the body is an amazing thing. Just when you think you can't go anymore, you do. Eric was doing ok. Chelsey, our favorite nurse, got Eric in the chair that morning. He didn't look too well and kept on complaining about his catheter. It was giving him all kinds of pain. He told me he felt a little nauseous and I gave him his tub. Before I knew it, he was passed out. Scared me. I kept saying Eric, Eric, Eric. Nothing. The nurse ran over and yelled for help. This all happened in about a matter of a minute. He finally came to and we got him back in bed pretty quick. They took his blood pressure and it was 97/44. Needless to say, they kept a close eye on him. Eric has high blood pressure and has been on medicine for it for about 9 years. But, the pain meds and anaesthesia make your bp go down. They decided to take his chest tube out, which I got to watch. Loved that. It was so cool to watch them pull it out of him. Then it was time to take the catheter out. We got him in the chair and the nurse deflated the balloon and tried to pull it out. It didn't and wouldn't come out. She tried twice and poor Eric was in horrible pain. They decided to let the dr. try. He ended up cutting the tube and telling Eric to relax and yanked it out of him. He let out a sound that could be heard down the hall. His parents were out there when it happened and they heard him. Then we realized why he had been having so much discomfort from it. The tip of it had fallen to the side and was coming out sideways instead of longways. I can't even imagine. Only Eric!! I left around 7 that night to go shower and eat. Sarah took me out to eat, I showered and headed back to the hospital. I took the right turns and had a much easier trip this time. Got back and they had given Eric some higher doses of meds. They weren't working well for him. He has a high tolerance for things and they needed to up them. Around midnight that night (I'm now going on about 45 hours with no sleep), the nurse gave Eric some dilotted (STRONG pain killer) and rolled a cot in for me to sleep on. My head hit the pillow and I was out.
JUNE 17, 2009:
I woke up to the team of pain management doctors standing in the room. They were trying to get Eric's pain under control to send him home. He also had an x-ray that showed he had a slight pnumothorax, which meant he had a small leak in his lung where air was escaping. They told us that we needed to watch his breathing and to continue to do his breathing exercise with the machine they gave us. We got the go ahead around 11 in the morning that they were letting him go home. We had a few more doctors and people in to give us instructions. He was told that he was not to drive for a month and to not lift anymore than 10 pounds for a month...which meant that he was not to pick Jackson up!! There were a lot more restrictions and we signed papers and headed home. Now, the ride home was not any ordinary ride home. Every little bump that you normally don't feel, Eric felt. He also had to ride in the back seat because we couldn't figure out how to shut my passenger airbag off. He wasn't allowed to sit where an airbag would have a chance to hit him. We got home and I went to the pharmacy to get his meds. We were so happy to finally see Jackson. We missed him terribly. That was the longest that we had gone without seeing him. Eric tried to sleep in the bed that night and needless to say, it was too painful for him. He was used to the hospital bed mechanically lifting him up and down. Every muscle he was used to using to get up and down was not working and was hurting horribly. So his parents had brought a recliner over and that is where he spent the next two weeks. We were scheduled to go back to have his staples removed and more information on what the mass was on June 30. Those two weeks seemed to take forever. On June 30, we headed back over and had a chest x-ray done and then met with one of Dr. Ross's pa's (physician assistant's). He explained to us that they are thinking that he has what they call Sarcoidosis. It is a fungal disease that he will have for the rest of his life. They took his staples out and said that his incisions looked pretty good. They recommended us to a Pulmonologist. They deal with lung diseases and we are scheduled to go on August 18. They also lifted some of his restrictions. As long as he wasn't taking any pain meds and his range of motion was good, he could drive and pick Jackson up carefully with the other arm. I have done a ton of reading on Sarcoidosis and came to find out that it is more common in women and African Americans. It is not contagious and is usually treated with Steroids unless things come back in his lung and the steroids don't take care of it, more surgery may be needed. We are hoping that taking the mass out will just fix the problem. We will find more information out on the 18. He is feeling good and is doing more and more each day. We are so thankful for family and friends that have stopped to see us, sent cards and money, brought food and especially for all of you who have been praying for us. We will never forget how truly blessed we are to have such caring people in our lives. I will let you all know what we find out in August.

New Update...

On Monday, June 8th, we headed back to the James for a CT Scan of Eric's lung. They wanted to compare the mass from the last CT scan that he had in Coshocton, which was done on March 28th. They informed us that if the mass had stayed the same or grown, they would proceed to take some of the lung. After his scan, we went over to Dr. Ross's office to find out if the biopsies on his right side lymph nodes were back. They were and we were told that they were benign. Yea!!!! Thank God!!!! So here we go again...wait to see what the scan results show. The next day, I spoke with Dr. Ross's assistant and she told me that she was trying to open the scans from Coshocton and couldn't open their disc...imagine that. She also said that from what she could tell, we would probably most likely be headed for surgery. The measurements she gave me didn't seem to be that big. When I asked her about that, she told me that in the general scheme of things, that isn't very big, BUT, it is big in the lung, because there shouldn't be anything there. She also said it's like taking an apple and testing a small tiny piece of it, you won't know what you are dealing with until you get to the core of that apple. She said that everyone would rest better at night knowing that they got it out and didn't miss any cancer, if that is what it is. I have a feeling that the reason they wanted to do the scan again was to see if it had gone away, and it didn't. So there you have it, surgery is scheduled for Monday, June 15th, and I should know more today. Dr. Ross was going to do some comparing to the scans today, so waiting to hear back from him. Not assigned a time yet, will let you all know more when I do. Probably a 5 day stay at the James. Keep on praying!!!! We appreciate it.

Update...

Well, we are headed to the James again tomorrow. We will be having a Cat Scan to see whether the mass in the lung has shrunk, stayed the same or grown. If the mass has stayed the same or grown, we will proceed to have the at least half of the lung taken out. We are also hoping to find out what the needle biopsy showed from last Monday. I will let you all know as soon as we find out.

Had a really nice relaxing evening at my parents house. Stephen, Sarah and Aiden were home and we cooked out and spent the evening out on mom and dad's deck. We all needed it.

We also spent some time at the fairgrounds this weekend too. Hot air balloon races is a fun filled weekend. On Friday, we spent the night with Jesse, Ginger, little Jesse and Sunny Maple. The kids had a ball. We watched the fireworks which Jackson loved. On Saturday, my mom and I took my nephew, Aiden, and Jackson down...let's just say that my child is wild and I had to take him off the little ferris wheel they had because he would not sit down. The ride stopped at the top and Jackson jumped up and down and then proceeded to sit on the floor of the ride...ya, my kid is wild!!!! Pictures to come.

Eric Update...

We arrived at the James on Monday, June 1st, around 7am. By 7:30 we were called to the 4th floor where Eric's surgery would take place. Went to the pre-op room where they started doing vitals and tried to start the iv. He was extremely dehydrated and they ended up blowing his vein. They finally drew a couple of vials of blood and the anaesthesiologist gave him some relaxation medicine in his other arm. He then started the iv where the anaesthesia would be going in, which they sewed to his arm. Very weird. I have had anaesthesia several times and not once have they ever sewed the iv to my arm. Anyway, at about 8:30, they wheeled him into surgery. If any of you, or someone you know have ever had any surgery at OSU, they have a waiting atrium. Very nice, it's on the 5th floor. Access to Internet, tables, vending machines...pretty much anything you need. There is also a TV screen that updates anytime the patient goes into surgery, out of surgery, recovery room, etc. The Dr. also calls to update the patients family of when things are being done as well. So every time that phone rang, I jumped. The waiting is horrible!!! Fifteen mins., half an hour, forty-five mins., they finally called and said that they had started about 9:10. We had been told that the surgery could last 15 mins. to an hour and a half. I sat and tried to read...yea, that wasn't happening. I read the same line 30 times. I looked at the monitor about 20 times...it said the same thing every time I looked, patient in operating room. Finally an hour went by and two surgeons came into the atrium area. Dr. Ross, who is the head Thoracic Surgeon and his assistant, Dr. Patsy, who had performed the surgery on him. They had just finished up and Eric was heading to recovery. He did fine. They went down through the throat and took needle biopsies of the lymph nodes on the right side of the chest. Dr. Ross said that it "looked" to be benign, but he wanted to run more tests on the bio's to make sure. He said that someone would be coming to get me to take me to him. An hour went by and I finally was able to see him. He had a horrible look on his face and was white as a ghost. See, Dr. Ross had told us that if he got a good reading with the needle biopsies and it showed cancer, that he would stop the surgery and not cut him open. So Eric layed there for over an hour thinking that he had cancer because he had not been cut open. I told him that Dr. Ross had said that it "looked" benign. His throat was really sore from the vent tube down it. Dr. Ross came out and talked to us both and said he wanted to do a CT Scan on him. That is now scheduled for Monday. If the mass in his lung has shrunk, he wants to go a different route than having to take the lung. If it has stayed the same or grown, he will proceed to take the lung. We are waiting to hear back from the bio's, said it would take 5 to 7 days. More waiting... Dr. Ross also said that just because the right side may not be cancer, that doesn't mean that the left side isn't. It still doesn't explain why the mass is in his lung...that is not normal. So there you have it. Our day was quite long and emotional. We just can't get our hopes up yet, just to be knocked down again. So we will wait to hear and I will let you all know as soon as I can. Thank you all for caring and praying for us. We really appreciate it.

Update...

This past Friday, which was Eric's 38th birthday, we headed back over to The James for some pre-op testing. Our first one, they called an OPAC Test, really wasn't a test, we just met with the anaesthesiologist. She checked his throat, listened to his lungs and drew more blood. I swear he has been stuck more in the past 2 months than I can even count. Answered some questions that we had and filled out more paperwork. The second test was the PFT test. Breathing tests before being put under. They both went fine and we were home fairly early. Next trip will be surgery number one and we will hopefully know what we are dealing with at that time. Thank you all for the prayers!!!

Update...

Thought I would update you all on what is happening.

On May 5th, we went to the James Cancer Center in Columbus at Ohio State. We met with an oncologist and a thoracic surgeon. I have to tell you that this place is an amazing hospital. Everyone was so wonderful! The first dr. we saw was Dr. Villalona, he is the head of the lung cancer facility. He told us that the mass in Eric's lung was a higher number and that he was recommending us to see Dr. Ross, who is the second dr. we saw. He is the head of the Cardiothoracic Surgery. To make a long story short...we are headed over to Columbus tomorrow for 2 tests, a PFT (Pulmonary Function Test) and an OPAC test, which I can't remember what it actually stands for. Both tests are pre-op tests for the surgeries that we have planned.

On June 1st, we will be having the first surgery, Auto Fluoroscopic Bronchoscope, Endeobronchial Ultrasound Biopsy and possible Mediastinoscopy. Yeah, I know, I about crapped. They will put him to sleep, go down his throat and take a needle biopsy of the lymph nodes in his chest. There will be 3 pathologists in the surgery room reading these biopsies. If they cannot get a good reading, they will make a small incision in his throat and remove 2-3 lymph nodes to study. If the needle biopsy shows that it is cancer, they will stop and proceed to the next surgery. They will not cut his throat. We hopefully, will know something that day. We also will not know if they will have to cut him that day going into the surgery. Depending on the outcome of the 1st, will determine the next surgery, which is scheduled 7 days later.

On June 8th, we will go back for Left video assisted thoroscopic surgery, possible thoractomy, possible wedge, possible left lower lobe. What that means is that if what we find on the 1st is cancer, they will take out half of his left lung. If it is NOT cancer, they will take only the part of the lung that the mass is in. Either way, he will have some of his left lung taken out.

Cancer, as you know, is determined in stages. We were told that if it is cancer, we are hoping for Stage 1 - Stage 3a. That means that it is still operable and treatable. Stage 3b or stage 4, well, we just will have to wait to see what the best treatment will be from there. Chemo and radiation will probably be in the future no matter what the outcome.

I hope that you all followed that. Believe me, I have learned more things in the past month than I ever thought I would.

The railroad called last week and have denied our appeal. So going back there is out.

Please keep us in your thoughts. Eric gets tired quickly and is having some pain, nothing he can't handle right now though. I think our mental and emotional status is a little crazy right now, but we are doing ok. Jackson keeps us going. Thank God.

I will keep you all posted.

I'm an Aunt again...

WELCOME TO THE WORLD BABY GAVIN!!!!!

Very proud to announce that Angela finally had her little one.

GAVIN BRIAR LOCKE

April 28, 2009

2:58 PM

8lbs. 2oz.

22 inches long!!

I am so happy for you both and will post some pictures later today. I also want to say how proud that Tristan and Aubrey are. They were right there waiting for their little brother to get here. I know they will be good to Gavin.

Congratulations!! I am so happy to be Aunt Jess again can't wait to love that little punkin!

Jackson's Birthday

Here are a few pictures of Jackson.

The first pics are just some funny faces that he is making.

This starts his bithday pics. The first few are the night of his birthday, playing with the baby einstien gift that Maggie, Robin's little girl, got him. He loves this thing.

Jackson turned 2 on January 17th, I know, it's been almost 3 months. Better late than never.
Jackson and Aiden.

Ok, this is probably my fault. I don't give him much sugar, so he really wasn't that thrilled with the cake. Ice cream, he likes. I thought this pic was so funny. I love the look on his face.

Jackson loves Blue's Clues. So we did the whole birthday in that. I baked this cake the night before. I think it turned out really cute. Thanks to Mary Knicely for coming over and helping me with it. We had to piece it together...long story, which I will keep to myself.

Maggie loved that Jackson was getting clothes.

She took all of the clothes and carried them around.

Jackson got his first Harley Davidson from Mowmaw and Granddad. He loves it!!

This is how our dog, Daisy, sleeps every night. She is so spoiled and loves to snuggle.