THANKFUL AND THANK YOU

I have been gone from blog land.  I have missed it.  Jack has been home for ten days.  Never has anyone been so glad to see their own bed.  After 6 weeks in the hospital, he NEEDED HOME.
I have little to say except how tired I was and who wants to hear a whiner.   We have been adjusting to a new normal which I think is only temporary, but still new for right now.  In all the past tree seasons, Jack has run all the errands, loaded and unloaded  tree stuff everyday, fixed any problems.  You name it, he did it.  I only did trees…18 hours a day.  So you can add all the other stuff on and you see that my days have been longer.  That’s just the physical side of it.  The mental and emotional is a totally different thing.  Jack has experienced some weeks of depression…Part of that comes from losing his Dad last month. Part of it comes from the stroke. 
He has always been the servant so having to be served has made him feel useless. There is the guilt that I am not home much, that Amanda is taking Jack to all his appointments, that Micah is doing everything and then some…and some things that I did not even know needed doing.  Stepping up to the plate has taken a whole new meaning.  I have missed Dana and Micah's birthday, I failed to send my annual Thanksgiving cards, I have not been able to  snuggle with the little's NEAR enough.  I have 100 plus emails to answer and probably at least that many thank you notes to write.  Amanda is doing most of my Christmas shopping, taking her Dad to every appointment, physical therapy, bringing him lunch everyday, and a million other things.  She and Micah have taken servant seriously.   One funny story…Micah and Amanda took Jack to the sleep clinic to do the test for sleep apnea this week.  He had to be there at 8PM and I was not home yet.  When they left him, Micah said, “Pop call me when you are ready to come home”!  He did…at 3 AM…he was finished and ready to leave, so off Micah goes across town and by 4 AM they are at IHOP.  Stars in your crown are certain. 
I did have one night this week that Jack and Parker spent the night and that few hours of hugs and kisses energized me more than any five hour energy or any sleep.I was so tired that I just held Jack and cried. ..(the hugs and kisses were from Jack) Parker would not want anyone to think he hugged and kissed on me all night. …but Jack happened to be in a loving mood (at almost 3 those times are becoming fewer).
Jack is improving daily and getting his strength back.  We are eight weeks out from his stroke and in some ways, the past eight weeks have been surreal.  For 19 years I feared another heart attack…but never knew anything about strokes.  Part of me is still angry…Jack  had seen his doctor on the Wed before the stroke, the swelling had been something I was concerned about for months, something we had seen this doctor about  since spring.  We liked our cardiologist and we trusted him.  I know now that like is not enough. Every person has to be their own advocate.  We now know  that we  were not getting good advice or good care and that's been confirmed by at least five doctors.    So bottom line, I feel like if I had been more persistent and more vigilant, this stroke could have been prevented. But that’s nothing I get a redo on. 
Yesterday was Jack’s first day of out patient rehab, so he is extremely tired today and I am just on the verge of getting sick again, so we are missing Terri’s (my head elf) extravagant Thanksgiving meal she so graciously invites us to.  Maybe she will post pictures…Martha Stewart has nothing on her.  Our kids eat at their in-laws on Thanksgiving, so we are eating potato soup from Sam's.  Now you can laugh..We like it. And Amanda is on her way with a plate…of TURKEY food. 
I had a long to do list today and not one thing got marked off.  Exhaustion has taken over and I have to get back to work tomorrow.  
I am so thankful for all the sweet notes and emails from my blog friends.  I promise to catch up on all your blogs. It will still be a few weeks, but I am looking forward to some days of JUST blog reading.
Friendship has been redefined to me.  For every card and flower you sent, every meal you have cooked(and there have been so many) every hug you gave, every phone call and visit you made, every mile you traveled to see Jack, for every prayer you prayed, to Charlie and Greg and Austin (you know what you did that was important to no one but me) I will be forever grateful.  In the past two months, there have been days that encouraging words from friends have been all that has kept me sane. . Many of those days were days I felt so NOT UP for this journey. To all my elves, thanks for hanging with me late into the night and sometimes into the early morning.  Nothing feels better than seeing the finished product, picking up my purse and walking out…another house down.
Some day I will get a personal note to each of you. I have always known how much Jack was  loved.  The past two months have shown me I had no idea.  He is so ready to be back to normal.  It makes me so sad to see the things he struggles to do, but I see the old coach in him and know it is just a matter of time before he masters it.  So this Thanksgiving evening, I am not only thankful, but I thank you. 
More pictures and a giveaway on my holiday blog tonight or tomorrow…There may not be many words but lots of pictures…If you have any questions about any trees, feel free to email me…annah99@aol.com.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Teresa
Tell someone about the Holiday Blog and I will add your name  five extra times to the drawing.  I know a lot of my regular readers have given up on me. I have had so few giveaways this year, since my main shipper is not available…but I am going to make up for it on the upcoming post..
and just to make you laugh

Not a great picture but the story behind the picture…When Amanda went into Jack’s room he had emptied all his drawers…His words…”Mom I was wooking for Woody”!

POST COMING

A new post will be up soon.

Please go to

A BABY CHANGES EVERYTHING and look at all the new trees.....Leave a comment so I will know I still have READERS....Another giveaway will be coming in a few days.

GUESS WHO IS COMING HOME TOMORROW? 

OUR WEEK

I have planned to post for the last three days.  You have been so faithful to pray for Jack and I so wanted to give you an update.  Every time I have tried to type, I could not put my heart in words.  More of an emotional block than writer’s block.  These are not easy days. 
Wednesday morning we were able to check Jack out of rehab.  Micah picked him up and had him home and getting dressed before 9AM. We then drove two hours to say goodbye to his Dad.  We took two cars, so we could take a wheelchair if we needed it. (We didn't) Our doctor friend flew in and rode with us.  Not because we needed a doctor but because he had played for and loved Jack’s Dad. It did make me feel better to have a doctor on board.  Roger, you keep walking this road with us.  Thank you. 
We arrived at a full to overflowing church full of coaches, players and friends of a man that was loved by so many.  There were enough Rip Powell stories to fill a book.  As we arrived and moved into a little room, one man after another, many of Jack’s oldest friends in coaching and in life, made their way in to hug him.  So before we ever walked into the church, we were all a mess.  Right before we walked down that church aisle, Jack told me he was not sure if he could speak, he would just decide when it was his time.  My stomach was in the biggest knot ever.  I knew how much he wanted to.  I knew how hard it was going to be.  He had told me over and over this was a speech he had been writing for 50 years.  That’s a long time to prepare.  Greg was ready to speak for him, but I knew how much he wanted to do it himself.  When the pastor called on him, he stood up, walked up the steps, no wheelchair, no walker, no cane, just pre-stroke mode and as Greg walked behind him, I knew he was going to be able to say THANKS to the man that gave a young boy a home, a name and a life.  As he began to speak his voice got stronger and stronger, Greg stepped back, and he shared his heart as well as I have ever seen it done.  I am almost positive there was not one dry eye in the church. These were the kids FB posts that night…
Greg…To My Father...as a son, I had the great privilege of watching my dad pay tribute to his idol and role model, his Dad.  I have never been more proud to be Jack Powell's son. He told me a few days ago that he has known since he was a teenager the he would speak at his Dad's funeral. He was wonderful!!!
Amanda Happy birthday to my sweet daddy! I am so blessed to have him here today! I can't even put into words how proud I am am to be his daughter. Yesterday was probably one of the hardest days of his life and he handled it like a champ. I know Rip was looking down from heaven smiling.
Something happened when he finished.  People clapped.  Strange for a funeral but so right for this occasion.  He had honored a man than had made many boys into men.  But this boy he had given a new life, a place to call home, a name to be proud of. 
Jack had a supernatural strength the entire day,  He was able to walk with no help,  go to the burial, visit with friends, even go out to eat on the way home.  This was his first time to be out of the hospital in almost five weeks. 
Terri and I had reworked our schedule early last week and it left me with three days off the first of this week.  That had to be God.  This is a year that I have known I could not get behind.  In years past if I did, we just worked longer days.  I know that I don’t have the physical energy to do that this year.
Yesterday was Jack’s birthday.  A birthday a month ago we were not sure he would see.  I sent out an email a week or so ago and ask former players, coaches, family and friends to send an email to him that would encourage him.  Then Rip died and I was really not even thinking about the emails.  In three days I think over 60 cards came in the mail and almost 100 emails.  WOW….if you sent one, you will never know how much it meant. A friend put them all in a binder for me and I wrapped it, knowing it was going to be a very emotional but wonderful gift.  It was.  We had a small family surprise birthday party for Jack at the rehab.  It was almost too much for one week. 
The first card he read was and I can hardly type this,  a beautifully hand written, heart felt card…filling up both sides of the card, from the lady doctor we had at Baylor.  The one that became family to our family in a day where that does not happen often.  Dr. Elizabeth Rice-De, you make your profession look good, but more than that you say to your patients that they matter. I know that Jack could hardly wait for us to leave last night so he could read each letter and card slowly and then read them again.
Much more has happened this week, but I will save it.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures of the week

  A GIRL AND HER DAD

 Jack’s biggest cheerleaders4 LITTLE’S THAT NEED THEIR POP  A BOY, A DAD, and HIS GIRL PARKER, JACK and WOODYAustin and Grayson
Be sure and stop by A BABY CHANGES EVERYTHING tomorrow.  I am posting tree pictures and there will be a GIVEAWAY.  Blogging has had to take a back seat for right now, but I hope to be back soon sharing lots of Christmas pictures.  We start our “don’t look up” schedule on Sunday, where there is no day off for a long time.  There is a good chance that when I post again, Jack will be home where he belongs.