November 11th ~ Happy 8th Birthday To My Grandson Jacob!

Jacob is a very sweet and loving grandson!  He is super smart and very artistic.

Jacob and his older sister Abby are 23 months apart in age.

Ocean Grove ~ Before and After Hurricane Sandy

 In this video at approximately 6:13 you will see the auditorium in Ocean Grove with its severely damaged roof. Below is our slideshow of Ocean Grove from our visit there on September 22, 2012 the day after our niece's wedding on the beach in Sea Bright.

Another blog video and slide of Seaside Heights Damage Hurricane Sandy Before and After: http://bluemountainroad.blogspot.com/2012/11/press-coverage-video-of-devastation-of.html

Avon By The Sea Before and After Hurricane Sandy

Below are photos of my vacation at Avon By The Sea from June 2012, then a link to the damage from Hurricane Sandy.  Although there will be much clean up and most likely very costly, it appears that Avon seemed to fair the storm much better than Seaside Heights.Click here to see my blog on Seaside Heights.

http://photos.nj.com/monmouth/2012/10/bradley_beach_and_avon_by_the_4.html

Our Trip To The PA Renaissance Faire 2012

Makayla Update:

Update to this update:

Well Makayla has been officially moved from critical to STABLE! Praise The Lord!!! Our prayers are working! Please keep it up! Had a great report from the dr's and they are weaning her from the last iv medicine today!!! All meds are now going through the feeding tube. Should be moving her out of ICU in the next day or too. wooooo hoopooo!! Thank you all so much, what a mighty God we serve!!

Makayla Update:


From now on all updates I post will be gotten from Jeannette, since I am heading home right now. Last I heard, Makayla is doing pretty good. She still has the breathing tube out and is breathing great on her own, so it looks like she won't need it back in at all! Also, they are already talking about moving her to the acute care floor, and then soon (don't know exact time frame), moving her to Seattle Children's Hospital. She is more alert today, moving spontaneously and in response to stimuli like getting pinched. She is making attempts at grabbing her feeding tube.

Now, its hard for people to understand. She is not responsive at all to commands like "Squeeze my hand." She is not talking or even making noise. She is barely conscious, not really responding to anything around her. She will from time to time focus on your eyes and some times on the TV. She has some very basic purposeful movements like reaching for her
feeding tube. It's hard to imagine, but she is not, right now, any where near the "normal" Makayla. She has a very long road ahead of her. And in all truth, (I don't personally believe this but it is possible), this may be all that she recovers.

I'm not trying to pessimistic or negative; just trying to paint as real of a picture as possible for those that can't see her. I may post a short video I did yesterday with my iPhone so people can see more what I'm talking about. She will be recovering for months to a year or more.

Now, she has made miraculous recovery since she's been here! Don't get me wrong. The doctors didn't even really think she would make this good of an improvement, so we praise God for the miracle He was continuing to work! Even some of her nurses and doctors are referring to her as a miracle child! I just know some people have asked if she is walking and talking, etc, yet. She is nowhere near that stage of recovery.

The movements she is having right now are completely spontaneous and called myoclonic movements. It is a result of her brain "rewiring" around the damaged parts and trying to figure out how to work everything again. She will more than likely have to relearn everything. She may have memory problems both long and short term. She is not sitting up or anything like that either. They may try putting her in a type of wheel chair in the next day or two and wheeling her around to see how she does. She has made tons of baby-step improvements. And right now, those tiny improvements are in many ways huge!

I want to thank everyone again who have prayed, sent messages, letters, cards, and given money and other things to us! You all have been a huge blessing through all of this and it is everyone's prayers that have, and will continue to get us through! My updates may not be as regular as they have been since I have to get back to "real" life. But I will try and update everyone as often as I can.

Another Birthday In Heaven ~ Father Edmund Regensburger

Father Regensburger, noted
catechist, dies at 89
Father Edmund Regensburger, widely
known in Puerto Rico both for the
catechism classes he taught and the
doctrine program he televised,
died Jan. 23 in New Smyrna Beach, FL
A native of
Philadelphia, Father
Regensburger was
born October 21,
1919, to Charles
and Florence Fox
Regensburger of St.
Boniface Parish.
Ordained in 1946, his assignments were:
Puerto Rico, Tampa, FL, Opa Locka, FL,
and Wachula, FL.
He was a long-time minister to Spanish speaking
people in Florida who came
from Puerto Rico, Cuba and Central
and South America. At 85, he was still
driving himself to celebrate Mass each
Sunday at a chapel 50 miles away.

Baptizing my granddaughter Maggie(His Great Niece)

During a family visit to New Smyrna Beach

Feeding Maggie

"There are those who will lead us
Protect us each step of the way
From beginning to end
For each moment forever each day
Such a gift has been given
It can never be taken away"

 John Denver

Happy Birthday In Heaven "Uncle" Father Ed!

Mr. Boogedy (1986) A Fun Kid Friendly Halloween Movie

This movie was one of my daughters favorite Halloween movies from their childhood:

Fun Fact the actress Katherine Kelly Lang who plays the lady ghost Widow Marian now plays Brooke on The Bold And The Beautiful.